The Search for Blood
by Asami-chann
Summary: Echizen Ryoma thought he was walking into a normal school. He was so wrong. Yaoi-ish. Murder. Va-Fic. FujiRyo later, onesided EijiFuji early on. Complete.
1. The Murder

**(A.N: It's my new fic, updated weekly. YAY!)**

**The Search for Blood.**

**Echizen Ryoma thought he was walking into a normal school. He was so wrong. Yaoi. Murder. Abuse in later chapters. Va-Fic.**

**Chapter one – The Murder.**

A quiet place in Tokyo was all that he needed. The harmless flirting had created the perfect disguise for his attack. No one would have any idea of what he was going to do.

Or what he was doing was.

Her blood slowly spilled and she screamed. She was terrified. Her heart beat was fast as she tried to fight the boy off of her, but he refused to let go.

More and more blood left her body, but none hit the floor, or stained anything. His white teeth dug in further as she cried out in more pain. There was no way that she could escape now.

To tease her, he released her and she tried to run, but her body failed to respond. Every part of her body felt drained as he grabbed back onto her from behind and she collapsed.

With a sadistic smirk, he tortured her, not letting one drop of blood hit the floor. He covered her mouth so her screams could not be heard as everything he had worked up to had come to life. All of her trust in him, gone.

She managed to cry out once, but he quickly covered her mouth again. "Please stop. Please..."

He growled as he bit into her again and she cried again. Her tears soaked everything. No drop of blood reached anything other than his mouth as he continued to drain her of all of her blood.

Her body slowly stopped as she continued to cry but soon those tears stopped too. Her heart beat froze and she went colder and colder as he made sure she had no blood left in her frail body. He could still hear her cries as he finished off his torture and left her still.

He smirked as he turned to leave, fixing up his clothing so he looked normal. His coat swung around behind him as he left with hollow footsteps. "Natsu-chan, bye, bye."

(TTTT)

Seishun Gakuen was very unsettled that day. Everyone had heard about the third year student, brutally murdered in her own home. They had no idea who the murderer was, but the girl's brother, Chida Sousuke, was under investigation.

Echizen Ryoma was well aware. His father had been listening to the news on the television and it had come up. He just decided to ignore it. There had been cases of murder in schools before. He just had never thought it would ever happen at Seishun Gakuen.

Somewhere elsewhere, Momo, Oishi and Eiji were together, interrogating Fuji. Fuji Shuusuke constantly creeped Ryoma. He hated the smile that Fuji had. It scared him, but he didn't tell anyone.

Eiji pouted. "Mou, Fujiko! You're at school and acting like a loony when your girlfriend was just murdered this weekend. What's worse is that we all know how she was really murdered!"

Fuji sat still. "I don't, I'm sorry, Eiji. I'm just trying to act normal to not create an upset."

Momo grabbed Fuji by his shirt. "Don't act so high and mighty! You know exactly why!"

The tennis board room was cut off to any of the non-regular tennis club members with two sections, the males and the females. Quite often, if you wanted to find Eiji, Ryoma or Momo, you only had to look on the room. It was very simple. No one else could possibly know what went on up there. It was like a private board room that no one ever interfered with.

Eiji frowned. "Tell us, Fujiko! What did you do to Natsu-chan?"

Fuji sighed angrily. "I didn't touch her!"

Oishi was getting angry too. "Fuji, don't lie to us! We don't lie to you!"

Fuji sighed again but his smile came back. The same sadistic smile that sent shivers down a lot of people's spines. "I didn't hurt her, I didn't touch her. I took her home after her music practice so she didn't have to walk alone."

Momo growled. "You walked her home and did her a favour. You touched her. You held her hand the whole way home and then she brought you into her house. She sat you down had you took advantage of her. You didn't hurt her, you just tortured her until she cried out in pain and enjoyed every moment of it, didn't you, Fuji?"

Fuji gulped nervously, but hid the expression in his face. "I didn't touch her. I walked into the house and said goodbye then left. That's it."

Eiji didn't want to accuse his friend, but he knew exactly what happened. He had heard every detail whilst Fuji was in his subconscious state. He knew that one day, they would all become something like him. Unable to control their actions rationally.

Eiji looked down. "Chida Natsu is the thirteenth victim, Fuji. Please, stop it. Stop killing them."

Oishi comforted Eiji. Eiji was very close to Natsu. He was one of her closest friends, Oishi the other alongside her 'boyfriend' Fuji.

Eiji walked away from Fuji and the others followed. Fuji sat down and took a deep breath. He never really loved Natsu. He was trying to protect her and he failed. The one who tried to protect her actually failed her. Tortured her. Killed her. His subconscious state was getting stronger. Soon, he'd fall completely to it. Then he wouldn't know who he was torturing. He hated the thought.

('')

Ryoma sighed as he sat at in his home, sitting in front of his paper-holding father. Taking sips to try and ignore the middle-aged man, he eventually gave up. The Seigaku tennis team seemed wounded and betrayed and he couldn't understand why.

Nanjirou smiled evilly. "You know, Ryoma, they say that the girl that was murdered at your school was attacked by a vampire."

Ryoma frowned. "A vampire?"

Nanjirou smirked. "Yes. Teeth marks on her neck fit almost a perfect human jaw. The only difference is two fang marks that bit down into one of her arteries."

Ryoma hid his interest as he swallowed down more ponta. _Vampires? Could one of the regulars be a vampire?_

Nanjirou's grin grew even wider. "There was a message written all over the wall. 'Beware humans. We still exist'. They would have to be able to comprehend written language. The only answer could be a vampire. Be careful, Ryoma."

Ryoma took a last gulp of his can of the delicious drink. "Yeah, yeah." _It could explain the betrayal. The discovery that has come across._

Ryoma walked up stairs contemplating the idea. He always thought something was different about his team. Now he had an idea why.

(A.N: This is chapter one. It's a little weird, but it gets better. I promise. And longer. This is just the intro. Anywho, review please!)


	2. The Lies

**(A.N: Chapter two! YAY!)**

**The Search for Blood.**

**Chapter two – The Lies.**

Fuji paced the long white halls. His sister watched as she saw her younger brother tear himself apart, slowly and painfully. His face was confused and hurt and his eyes were beginning to leak tears. His head was pounding at him. So was the voice from within.

_**Shall we hunt again tonight, Shuu-chan?**_

Fuji shook his head. The thought made him sick. What his own body had done, even if it wasn't at his own accord, he would once frown upon. Now, he too, was a murder, a threat. He didn't trust himself with anyone.He couldn't. He'd most likely hurt them again. He'd already lost the girl he possibly cared the most about. He wasn't madly in love with her, but he was protecting her. By protecting her, he had let himself kill her and torture her instead.

_I should be locked up. I shouldn't be let out. Confinement is what I need, but-_

Fuji waved the thought from his head. Confinement was the last thing he needed. He would be locked up until his lack of consumed blood and blood lust killed him, which took up to fifteen years on average. Fifteen years of self torture was the last resort. The longest someone lived in confinement was fourty-nine years and three hundred and sixty four days. The vampire was murdered at eleven fifty nine pm.

Yumiko brushed a single hand through her long hair. She hated watching her brother kill himself from the inside. He had been driven to his limits years ago and the fact that he could retain himself from becoming one of the undead was a miracle. He was still bordering a human form, the one that Vampires wished to maintain, but every vampire would one day loose this and become an undead, at which point needed to be removed from existance. Yumiko couldn't stand to see her brother killed because of who he was.

Fuji paced the halls again and again, refusing to admit that he was crying now. His frustration with himself just made it harder. Everything he had done would constantly fill his mind. Everything would haunt him until the day he died. He would never be able to face what he had done and admit it to himself. His hands felt unclean and his mouth filthy with the taste of Natsu's blood still lingering as strong as it did when his undead form bit into her flesh.

He fell to his knees as he slammed a fist on the floor, fumbling with the other hand for something he had been given. The package was empty and he knew, but he hoped that something would be left. If he relied on it and there was none left, he was better off to go into confinement.

Yumiko walked to her brother's side and took his hand. "Shuusuke, are you alright?"

Fuji tried to act normally, with that somewhat possessed and sadistic smile. "I'm fine, Yumiko-neechan."

Yumiko scolded herself for asking such a stupid question. "Shuusuke, you need help."

Fuji instantly darted back with harsh words, "I don't need your help! I'm fine, really!"

Yumiko grabbed her brother's wrist. "It's alright. I understand. Shuusuke, you can't help that you've been driven to your end. But, I know a way that can help you, if you let me."

Fuji sat up, looking at his sister as she looked at him with serious eyes. His eyes were still closed over, but that sadistic smirk was gone. He rarely became serious, but protecting everyone around him was a serious matter all together. "How, neesan?"

Yumiko stood up and walked into her room at the end of the hall, ushering Fuji to follow. It, like all of the rooms in the house, was painted white with various tarot cards and other items were scattered on shelves along side her rows of books. If there was anything that interested Yumiko the most, it would be the human races' fairytales. How many completely missed the real picture was amusing to some extent. Most of the vampire ones had no idea what really went on.

The closest she found was something like a manga, but even so, that was very far 'off the mark'.

She shuffled through her shelf to find a metal box. It was closed with a lock and opened very easily once the key was found. The trick was, the key was constantly on a chain hidden under Yumiko's clothes. It looked like a locket, but the key was inside.

Inside was various containers of medication. Fuji didn't believe that Yumiko had something like this. "Neesan? Why do you have all of this?"

Yumiko put a finger to her lips. "I lost myself to the undead years ago, when you and Yuuta were young. I was going to be put into confinement, but some of the researchers there had a cure they wanted to test. So for my freedom, I traded myself as a test subject."

Fuji didn't believe his ears. His sister seemed to be the most controlled vampire that Fuji knew other than his mother. His mother barely even seemed a vampire. "But, neesan..."

Yumiko smiled gently as she took out a small package. "It's some more of the latest attempt. It works, obviously. I haven't felt better since I was controlled. If you want it, you can have it."

Fuji didn't know whether to accept or refuse. It almost sounded too good to be true. "But, neesan, don't you need it?"

Yumiko smiled. "Now, Shuusuke, I'd rather see you under control and happy again then see you dying like you were on the carpet in the hall. It doesn't matter. I feel great and if I'm desperate, then I'll get some more. Okay?"

Fuji was actually happy to receive medication for once in his life. Human medications screwed around with vampire bodies in more harmful ways than good. "Thank you, neesan."

Yumiko smiled. "Yuuta is coming home later. I don't think I remembered to tell you. For Father's birthday."

Fuji smiled. "That sounds good. Thank you again, neesan."

()

Ryoma laid on his bed as he tried to read through another magazine. This one had a lot of the regulars throughout it. Each one looked as human as he was. He would admit that everything about all of them, except Inui's very dark tendencies, seemed human. Fuji, for one, seemed angelic.

To and outsider, Fuji would be the most angelic being most likely alive. To the regulars, they all knew that he did have some sadistic tendencies, but he still seemed ultimately harmless to someone's life. It didn't answer why he was being harassed over his supposed girlfriend's death those few days before.

Ryoma turned another page in his book '_Vampires – The truth' _which was ultimately the same thing as all of the other books. A particular passage seemed to ring about five similarities.

_'A vampire may seem human, but you will see their downfall clearly. They're evil and cannot live for long in sunlight and need blood to survive.'_

Just from that paragraph, it would prove that the other regulars were not vampires. They spent most of their days outside in the bright sun. They didn't seem to rely or take pleasure in blood, thus they would be human to any person's eyes.

_'Vampires have pale skin and large fangs that stand out. Usually, their fangs over lap their bottom lip.'_

Again, some of the regulars had a tan, and none of them had fangs that showed. They seemed perfectly normal. The closest to pale was Fuji, but again, he still didn't show anything else of a vampire.

Ryoma closed over the book and sighed. He was getting no where. His magazine had no images that would reveal anything that he had seen. But there was one image that interested Ryoma. It was one of a certain senpai that did seem to have rather large 'fangs' if one should call it that.

The image had caught Eiji with his large grin and his teeth as white as paper. His 'fangs' did seem abnormally large, but nothing too outrageous. None of the other pictures seemed to have anything that could imply that they were vampire fangs. It was probably something to relate with his similarities with cats. But that proved nothing.

Ryoma rolled over and sighed once again. _'Why can't I figure out my senpai-tachi? They're all so human, but there's something about them I'm not sure about.'_

Ryoma closed the magazine as well and turned to his precious cat. Karupin loved his master. Karupin would do anything he could to try and help Ryoma. That was even before torturing Nanjirou.

Karupin mewed as Ryoma petted Karupin's white fur down to his brown tail. Ryoma smiled just a little. "Karupin, what do you think?"

Karupin tilted his head. "Meow?" which translated to something like 'What do you mean?'

Ryoma smirked. "My senpai, Karupin. Do they seem abnormal to you, or is it just me?"

Karupin rubbed behind his ear with his paw. "Mew. Meo-w," he meowed as he stood up on his hind legs and took on some sort of expression that reminded Ryoma of Momo.

Ryoma smirked. "Momo does seem normal, doesn't he?"

Karupin fell to his front paws again with what resembled a smile. "Mew."

Ryoma patted behind Karupin's ears. "What about the others?"

Karupin stood on his hind legs again and tried to resemble Eiji. Doing so was very hard. Acrobatics on his hind legs did nothing for a four-legged creature. "Mew. Meow, meow."

Ryoma smiled just a little. "Eiji-senpai is very nice to you, isn't he?"

Karupin hissed quietly and hunched over. "Fshuuuuu," He meowed, but it didn't sound a lot like what he was trying to get at.

Ryoma raised an eyebrow. "Kaidoh-senpai? Kaidoh-senpai is nice to you too?"

Karupin nodded slightly. "Mew."

Ryoma would have never guessed. "That's surprising. What about Tezuka-buchou?"

Karupin used his paw to pretend to press up glasses and crossed his front paws. With a stern meow, he returned to normal. "Meow."

Ryoma would have laughed if he was anyone else. Around his cat, he was never as uptight as he was with the others. "Yes, he just seems very stern, doesn't he?"

Karupin had a sneer on his face as he stood up in a way that could only resemble Fuji. "Mew. Meow, meow. Me-w."

Ryoma didn't quite understand. "Are you saying that Fuji-senpai seems strange?"

Karupin tried to nod, but fell over. He had been near Fuji once, and that had created such a fear of evil in Karupin that he was terrified. "Mew."

Ryoma didn't know why Karupin seemed afraid of the least vampire-like one of them. "Karupin, why?"

Karupin trembled. "Mew, meow. Me-w," he cried, meaning something like 'Fuji has evil radiating from him' or something along those lines. Only an animal could tell what someone was really like.

Ryoma still didn't quite understand, but Karupin had to have had good reason. Karupin still maintained to pounce on his older brother if he came within a block from the house on most occasions. Nanjirou was quite often the victim of viciousness. Karupin loved the two Echizen children, Ryoma the most. Ryoga had a little spot for Karupin deep in his heart too, but that didn't do much for him when he was overseas.

Karupin curled up in a ball and started to drift off into sleep as Ryoma gently patted Karupin's ears. "Night, Karupin," Ryoma smiled as he laid to go to sleep as well.

Karupin lightly meowed. "Mew."

(-.-)zzZ

The next day, Karupin had kindly woke his master as he did every morning. The Echizen boy wasn't pleased to have to get up, but it was Friday. There was no argument that it was the best day of the working week.

Now his school day was on the verge of ruined due to the absence of closure. Closure of what, Ryoma wasn't sure, but he needed it. He wanted to confront his senpai, but if they were indeed normal, then he would be confined to see some sort of councilor or go to an institution for the mentally impaired. That would be worse.

With a quick movement, Ryoma opened his can of beloved ponta. Lunch time was certainly the best time of the day. He could drink his ponta once again.

Momo laughed at Ryoma as he took a quick drink of the liquid. "You need to slow down or you'll drown yourself in ponta."

Eiji nodded in agreement. "It's true, nya!"

The best thing about being in the tennis club, they were allowed to enter the club room during the day because they were regulars. It meant that at recess and lunch breaks, they could sit on a small balcony that concealed them from the rest of the school. They just liked that privacy. Anyone would.

Momo looked at Ryoma then Eiji. "Bathroom," He said, dismissing himself from the roof top.

Ryoma gulped down some more of the liquid. _'Eiji-senpai is the least likely to keep a secret... but...'_

(-.-")

Momo stood next to Kaidoh, who knew one of the only reasons that Momo would have been there. "Blood?" Kaidoh hissed, well aware that he was correct.

Momo didn't like facing his rival for such a need, but yes, that was what he was forced to do. Damn Inui and his list. "Yeah." He said slightly nervously. He didn't like this one bit.

Kaidoh got up and walked away from the table occupied by Fuji, Oishi, Tezuka and Inui. They quite often sat together. Taka-san was usually there as well.

They entered a small room, resembling a janitor's closet, and locked the door incase anyone decided to intrude. It was so much easier than wiping their memories of whatever they witnessed.

Momo growled under his breath. "Stupid Inui and his order."

Kaidoh frowned at Momo. "I don't like this either, teme."

Momo growled at Kaidoh. "What did you say, Mamushi?"

The reason for this feud was quite simply that Inui had created an order that they would have to get by. Sadly, this meant that Momo relied on Kaidoh, as Kaidoh relied on Inui. The order really got annoying. It didn't matter to them.

Kaidoh sighed and undone his shirt and Momo sighed as well. They both hated this. Why did Inui have the two rivals together anyway? It just made everything so much worse. Tezuka surely had something to say about it.

Momo quickly sank his teeth into Kaidoh's neck, causing Kaidoh to lean on the wall behind him. As much as he hated it, a vampire would also take enjoyment in being beaten. It was considered an act that was now seen similar as attacking a human, only slightly more noble.

The only problem was the effects it had on both, which was always the same. There was only two effects, which no one got to choose:

Hatred or desire.

Momo's teeth pulled away as Kaidoh tried to grip the wall behind him. There was no way that he could hold back for long. Momo was flustered as he too tried to stop himself. It was no use. Until the new wound on Kaidoh's neck healed, they would feel like that toward each other.  
'_Damn it,' _Momo cursed as he pushed himself back onto the opposite wall, trying to hold back for as long as he could. Kaidoh, of course, was slightly dizzy because of the blood loss, but it was nothing critical.

Momo found himself against Kaidoh in a split second, but restricted himself. He supported Kaidoh to stay upright as he grasped his own leg tightly to create pain. The pain was supposed to distract him from this feeling he hated. Toward Kaidoh, of all people.

Kaidoh, however, had fallen prey a lot faster. His lips pressed against Momo's as he inwardly scolded himself again and again. His body was acting on it's own.

Momo returned the kiss as he pushed Kaidoh further into the wall. They parted at a smell that was so familiar and could rouse them from their unwanted feelings. "That's-" Momo said as he pulled back, his desire for his enemy fading quickly.

Kaidoh too had come back to his normal self. "Echizen."

(O.O)

Ryoma wanted the truth, and was going to get it. No matter what. In doing so, he had fallen over and made himself bleed. Eiji had instantly reacted to that. He was holding his head and muttering something to himself.

Ryoma walked over to Eiji's side. "Eiji-senpai?" He asked as he sat at Eiji's height to try and wake Eiji from his probable panic attack.

Eiji's eyes lashed up to Ryoma, his pupils dilated and wide as he tried to breathe. "Hurry, go."

Ryoma didn't understand. "Eiji-senpai?"

Unconsciously, he brought his leg closer to his senpai which was bleeding. Eiji licked his lips, but not of his own accord. "HURRY UP AND GO, O'CHIBI!"

Ryoma staggered back as he took in his senpai's shout. He had fallen backward and Eiji was beginning to loom over him.

A scream of pain filled the whole area. "KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"

m(-.-)m

**(A.N: Cliffy. Please review. I'm supposed to be studying.)**


	3. The Chaos

(A.N: Sorry for the late update. But here it is, Chapter 3!)

**Chapter three - The Chaos**

KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

_He's a vampire. No. This can't be happening. I've been bitten. Blood. Hell no. My friends. The regulars. Are they vampires too? No. No. No. No. No. No. No! No! NO! NO! NO!_

Ryoma tried to fight off his senpai. He knew that it was his fault. The consequences he should have seen coming. He couldn't believe how stupid he was. To stand that close to someone who was obviously concerned for him and was being tormented by the sight of Ryoma's blood, Ryoma had never felt so foolish in his life.

-B-L-O-O-D-

_Eiji fought off another figure. He had no idea who he was fighting but he had to defend himself._

_The second one smirked. "Oh, Eiji. Can't you feel it?"_

_Eiji staggered backwards. "What? What are you talking about? Who are you?"_

_The second one laughed. "Don't you recognize yourself?"_

_Eiji collapsed to his knees. It couldn't be true. But the red hair and cold eyes only screamed his own name. It could only mean one thing._

_He had become his undead self. Which could only mean..._

_O'CHIBI!_

_-B-L-O-O-D-_

Two harsh hands dragged the feasting creature from Ryoma. It was no longer the enthusiastic and hyperactive third year holding onto the collar of Ryoma's shirt and Ryoma had yet to realise. He was still crying out in small whines and whimpers of pain as he felt most of his energy leave his body. Ryoma felt faint. It wasn't common to get blood drained from your body by the gallon. Well, if it were by the gallon, Ryoma would have been long dead.

A loud crash was heard as the possessed form of Eiji hit the floor and the other figure stood up tall. The other figure looked slightly nervous, angered, worried and blood-thirsty all at the same time. Ryoma fell backwards, his head spinning in circles.

Two other figures rushed to Ryoma's side. Ryoma couldn't make out who anyone was anymore, but he heard definate voices.

"Hey! Gaki! You alright?"

"Momo, that's a stupid question. Of course he's not alright," Oishi's voice retorted, rather uncharacteristcally.

For some reason, each person seemed to reflect another side of their personality whenever near blood. Oishi became more... cruel, if that was the way to put it. Momo generally became even more vocal with what ever thought came to his head. Fuji's emotions just went haywire. It was the one time Fuji could lactually crack it at someone else in rage. Hence why the undead Eiji was on the floor.

Momo folded his arms. "What did you say? I was asking the usual question that you usually ask to humans. Hell with it, I don't know what it's like to be a human anymore!"

Ryoma, despite the fact he couldn't see, thought for a moment. _'Anymore? That means... Momo-senpai was once human...'_

Oishi grabbed Ryoma and gently moved Ryoma just a bit so he could get a better look at Ryoma's new wound. "Momo, just get the bandages and first aid kit from inside. We don't need your life story at a time like this."

Fuji stood up tall, trying to look fierce. He was definitely angered, but also sympathetic. He knew what was most likely going on in Eiji's head right now and it was never pretty. Vampires had the instinct to fight, but living with humans impared this. Because of the imparement, it could take so much longer for Eiji to fight off the undead vampire inside of him which had all of his instinct still in tact.

Fuji felt hands latch onto his own shoulders, teeth sinking into his neck. He didn't feel anything he should have. He felt pain. Vampires were biologically masochists and sadists. They relished in each others pain and enjoyed being in pain as well. Yet, Fuji couldn't find anything inside of him that was enjoying Eiji's attack. He felt fear. Fear that his friend mighten wake up and fear that his own friends mighten wake up to the fact that Fuji was being attacked.

Fuji couldn't speak. A clawed hand was draped over his mouth as Fuji was pushed back into a wall. His head was roughly moved sideways with the intention of possibly removing his head from his neck to get in contact with more blood.

Momo knelt down by Ryoma's side with a bottle of water and handed Oishi the first aid kit. Oishi covered the wound as he gently tried to give Ryoma some water to drink. It wasn't normal that a human could survive even a few minutes under attack. Ryoma was lucky. Extremely lucky.

Fuji's knees felt weak as his own inner demon began to waken. He could fight off his best friend sane and be able to get Eiji off without too much damage to his friend, but possible death to himself or he could fight off his best friend as his undead self and get him off easily but chance hurting Eiji.

Before Fuji could even decide, Eiji was stripped from Fuji's body and Eiji's body went completely lifeless. Tezuka stood up tall and held Eiji up straight as Fuji tried to keep himself upright and under control. His eyes were flashing between the sharp and evil undead and his own slightly kinder and more human blue.

Tezuka noticed the glint as Fuji fell on his knees with his own head in his hands. This diverted the attention of Momo instantly as he tried to dart over to Fuji. Fuji took a deep breath. "Lay.. Eiji down. He's... most likely... out... for the next... few days," Fuji said between gasps for air and battles between him and his inner self. With a final breath, Fuji concluded his latest battle over.

Momo questioned this. "What? Why?"

Fuji stood up, still a slight dizzy from the amount of blood he had just lost. He wouldnt accept any blood from anyone else though. He didn't know if he could handle even the taste, smell or sight of blood at the moment. "Eiji... He was driven to his limits and now he has to spend a few days trying to build them back up inside of himself. It won't be perfect, but hopefully it'll do well. I'm guessing something similar... happened to you when you joined our cursed race."

Momo couldn't remember exactly everything. It was years ago now. His memories of the time was scattered. All he remembered was that after Momo had been awake for a week and feeling strange, his father left for a few days because his mother was angry at his father, well step and adoptive father. "That... I don't remember so well. I was seven. I remember it wasn't good. Not good at all."

Fuji nodded as he walked away slowly. Momo instantly shouted after him but silenced by Tezuka. "Momoshiro, leave Fuji to go," Tezuka said as he gently put Eiji down. He really just wanted to see Eiji get out of this mess. But Tezuka knew it probably would never happen. Fuji had still not gotten out of his situation. Tezuka didn't want to face anymore Fuji's in the near future.

(0.0)

Momo sighed in relief. He had just tried to explain the whole story to Ryoma that you can't become a vampire by being bitten. He just didn't clarify how you could become a vampire. Momo watched as the first year quietly took his tennis racket and headed for the tennis courts. Ryoma, after resting for the rest of the very eventful lunch time and sleeping through both of his next classes, had regained himself to some sort of normality.

Momo, however, had yet to calm down. Thoughts had gone constantly though his head. There was no reason why that should have brought back memories. Becoming the undead had barely a link to what had happened to him when he was merely seven years old.

_-FlashBack-_

_"Papa, what are you drinking?"_

_The thirty year old man smiled. "Oh, Takeshi. Do you want to try some?"_

_The seven year old nodded as he sat up on a seat beside his father. His father was actually his step-father but due to his adoption certificate Sousuke was his official father. The boy loved Sousuke like they were blood related. Takeshi even looked a slight like Sousuke._

_The seven year old smiled as he quietly clinged onto his father to get onto the table. He was usually frowned upon at any time he got onto the table by his mother, but his mother was out and his father didn't mind too much. "Mm!"_

_His father gave Takeshi the glass and Takeshi took a sip. Surprisingly, it tasted delicious. Strange, yet delicious. "Do you like it, Takeshi?" Sousuke asked curiously._

_Takeshi nodded. "Yes."_

_Sousuke smiled. "That's good."_

_**Later**_

_Takeshi laid down on his bed as he began to cough and splutter. He felt frozen, as if all of the warmth in his body had been stripped from him. Takeshi pulled his bed sheets up to his chin as he tried to find some sort of warmth. "Papa!"_

_Sousuke ran up the stairs to his son's aid. He heard the cry and knew that something was wrong. "Takeshi, what happened?"_

_Takeshi coughed. "I feel sick, Papa."_

_Sousuke felt Takeshi's arm as he felt how cold Takeshi was. He saw Takeshi cringe as tears began to roll down the seven year old's cheeks. "Takeshi..."_

_Takeshi began to weep as he held his head and shivered. He felt horrible. The pain was unbareable. "Papa, what's happening to me?"_

_Sousuke watched as Takeshi. Takeshi tried to hold his teeth as he felt something digg into his finger tips slowly. Sousuke could only watch. He had no idea what to do in this kind of situation. Takeshi cried despite the fact he did actually begin to feel better because of the consumption of blood, even if it was his own. Takeshi sniffed as Sousuke came to a quick idea. "Takeshi, I'm going to go and get you something to hopefully make you feel better," Sousuke said before retreating._

_Takeshi cried out in pain as Sousuke ran down the stairs, tears running down his own cheeks._

_"I'm sorry... Takeshi..."_

_**A few days later**_

_Momoshiro Hana arrived home to a distressed husband. She couldn't understand why he could be so distressed. Takeshi wasn't all that hard to care for. Usually Takeshi and Sousuke ran a muck, but a safe muck, that could cause any normal woman distress._

_Sousuke held his head in his hands, his drink untouched as he tried to rest. Hana wrapped her arms around her husband. "What's wrong, Sousuke?"_

_Sousuke flinched. "Hana, you're going to hate me."_

_Hana couldn't understand. "What? I could never hate you, Sousuke."_

_Sousuke turned to his wife. "I turned Takeshi into a vampire."_

_Hana was in shock. "A vampire?!"_

_Sousuke nodded. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't know that the drink was a vampire's blood. It was a human's on the packet, which is completely safe for humans."_

_Hana took a deep breath. "It's okay. Just... is there anyway we can help him?"_

_Sousuke nodded. "Takeshi is awake and fine otherwise. He's going to find it hard figuring out the reason why he feels so different, but we can't do much for him, I'm afraid."_

_Hana nodded as she took a deep breath. "Okay then. Just, please, Sousuke. Tell me if I can do anything."_

(o.o)

Ryoma sat in the club room. Tezuka had officially cancelled practice for the afternoon.

Ryoma tried to understand his senpai. "So, you're saying I won't become a vampire."

Tezuka folded his arms and nodded. "Yes, that is correct."

Ryoma was still a little unclear. His head was still uneasy because of the incident. "Can you... Explain it again..."

Momo woke from his memories, looking at his friend. He had no idea what had been going on because he was very distracted. It seemed a few of them had noticed. Tezuka still kept his eyes on Ryoma. "Because you have not gotten any blood in your system with vampire genes in it, you will not become a vampire even though you were bitten. You are still human."

Ryoma nodded. "I understand now," Ryoma said, pulling his cap down, "Can humans have vampiric genes in their blood?"

Tezuka was generally unsure. He had never met a human with some unnoticed vampire genes. You either were a vampire or a human. Even if you were converted to a vampire, you were a vampire _or _a human. There was no middle point. "That... I have no idea about,"

Momo stood forward. "It is possible."

Ryoma darted his head to Momo. Since he was forced to learn everything about the vampires if he wanted to continue on with normal...ish life, he may as well had known everything. "What do you mean, Momo?" Tezuka asked.

Momo sighed. The room sounded tense. "Eight years ago, my dad had some humans blood by every possible test, but it still had something in it."

Oishi nodded. "Ah. So that's what happened. I knew your dad wasn't that careless."

Momo folded his arms. "Aa. That's how I became a vampire." After a few moments of silence, Momo smirked. "What's with this atmosphere? It's making this scarier than it is. It's not good. Not good at all."

Ryoma lifted his cap for a second. "Is Eiji-senpai alright?"

Everyone looked at each other. "Well, we don't know. We won't know until he wakes up."

(-.-)

The night felt comforting. It was dark and you felt secure. Not knowing what was around you made you feel alone. Just where some people wanted to be.

One teenage boy smirked, lifting his gaze to look at the tattered strips of cloth that were spread out across the alleyway. A figure laid across the ground, soaked in the horrible fluid that humans loved to drink. Alcohol made the teen boy sick. How humans could poison themselves was beyond his own recognition, but it did add a nice flavour to a human's blood. That was certain.

The boy's eyes were glinting red as he licked his lips. His teeth were stained red for the moment. A good toothbrush should remove any of that. The boy swung his black trench coat behind him as he walked out of the alley way. He had a hooded jacket underneath the trench coat so he could pull the hood over his head. His pale skin covered his frail body.

He was the prince; The Prince of the Vampires. He demanded respect from any other vampire in his own subtle and almost sadistic ways. He could manipulate even the unbeknown humans to his will.

He smirked as he walked on, his feet walking on the wet ground. He was covered in black clothing. Black like the unlit night. White by day, black by night. That was his norm.

His footsteps echoed as he continued down the dimly lit path. _Humans. Pathetic._

He licked his lips again, his lips returning to the pale and sickly state the were cursed to be. He was the prince and therefore cursed with sickness. Cursed to be weaker than the others if he continued a normal vampire life. But he refused to be the weakest. He trained and fed. He found his own prey and did everything on his own.

One day, he'd break the horrid curse. One day, they'd find the human cure.

**(A.N: Ooo... Who is the Prince of the Vampires? The last bit is my favourite. D Anywho, please press the purple button and leave a review. You know you want to.**

**Fuji: Stop teasing them.**

**Me: Awwww... But, please review. Thank you.)**


	4. The Decision

**Chapter four – The Decision**

Ryoma tried to figure out why he felt so sick. He wasn't physically ill at all, thankfully, but his head would go through waves of dizziness and intense pain. He chose to ignore it, along with practically everything else. He wasn't even going to mention that his mouth was killing him, as if his teeth were shifting every second by being knocked around with a hammer.

Momo, who was borrowing a computer in Ryoma's classroom, looked at his best friend with concern in his eyes. His friend now had a peculiar smell about him, as odd as that sounded. He didn't quite smell... human anymore.

But Ryoma had consumed no blood. All he had had was a _glass_ of Inui Juice which he seemed almost immune to. Ryoma actually turned out the best out of them. For once, he actually commented that it was the nicest tasting drink that Inui had ever made, though something disgusting would be delightful to those who had drank Inui's previous concoctions.

Meanwhile, the sky was turning black, like a rain cloud was slowly progressing over Seigaku and refused to go away. The rain was beginning to fall. Slowly. Calmly. Agonizingly so. They wished it would rain or go away.

Fuji and Eiji were still absent, due to Eiji's remaining unconsciousness. Fuji believed that because he was also plagued with the curse of the undead, he should watch over Eiji in case Eiji became conscious and turned into the undead. If Eiji woke an undead, it would be almost impossible to save him.

All thoughts were with Eiji for that _not _to happen.

There was the ringing of bells from outside, but it was the kind of wind chime bells that gently rang in the breeze. Except there was no breeze.

Ryoma raised his head to look out the window, though that was a painful mistake. His desk had been kind to him. It was near the window, so it was warm from the small peaks of sun and yet, he still had enough darkness to rest. It was English, Ryoma's undoubtedly best subject. Ryoma had time to sleep.

Ryoma hissed in pain as he clunked his head back on the desk in pain. What was happening to him? Why did he feel so unwell?

Momo turned in his seat, speaking quietly. "Oi, Echizen, are you okay?"

Ryoma groaned in protest to Momo's question. All he wanted was peace and quiet. The thought was wonderful. He was better off sleeping on his desk in English class than going home. His father would pester him every five minutes to see if he'd died yet, considering he spent four and a half of those five minutes in his room checking on him. His father would yell and scream that his son was dead and that he had nothing to live for anymore. Then Ryoma would have to remind him that he still had a wife in America and another son... somewhere in the world. Not to mention that the fact he was talking was a sign that he was alive. Then his father would retreat to read his magazines for about thirty seconds and the process would start again.

Ryoma sighed as the class began to talk. They had to try and say a basic conversation in English to each other. Ryoma didn't even bother. He knew he could talk English fluently. He had lived in America since he was little. He was taught English and Japanese since he could talk. His father refused to talk to him in English, the stubborn fool, and his mother constantly spoke in English or a mixture of English and Japanese. She had to speak in English to her America clients. But she did have to speak in Japanese if she hoped to even get a response. She knew Nanjirou spoke _perfect _English as well.

Horio shook Ryoma's shoulder rather violently and Ryoma gripped his head in pain. "Horio!" he hissed angrily, his whole head beginning to throb uncontrollably and his vision no more than blur. He felt sick to his stomach. His whole body was beginning to violently shake and he felt frozen cold.

Momo, whose computer was right next to Ryoma's desk, began to panic. "Oi, Echizen. Are you okay?"

Ryoma turned his head with one sharp movement before latching onto it. "Yadda."

Momo raised his hand and the teacher walked over rather calmly. Obviously Ryoma sleeping on the desk in English was fairly normal. "Sensei, Echizen-kun is unwell. Can I take him to the infirmary?"

The teacher, a gentle woman who was from a foreign country, gently shook Ryoma's shoulder to try and check. If it was a lie, she wouldn't be happy. Her response was a groan of pain and a low his. "Momoshiro-kun, if you'd please. Thank you."

Momo grabbed his best friend. Ryoma stood up with his head in one hand as Momo supported him with the other. Ryoma took one step and his knees buckled. Momo, thankfully, caught Ryoma before he fell on the floor. Everybody in the room stopped as Ryoma tried to get hold of his feet again. But he was also trying to hold back cries of pain. He felt something strange... almost completely foreign running down his cheek. It was a tear, warmer than his entire skin that escaped his eyes.

The pain was only getting worse and worse. But Ryoma held back as many tears as he could. They had made it out of the classroom without creating _too much _of a commotion, but he knew he'd be pestered as soon as he was well again. Momo had lifted Ryoma onto his back by halfway down the hallway because Ryoma's legs couldn't cope. The fact they had coped that long was a miracle itself.

Ryoma rested his head on Momo's shoulder, taking deep breaths in between the more frequent tears. He had been hit in the head with broken tennis rackets that cut him open, smashed with hundreds of tennis balls from his childish father, broken a bone trying to retrieve an orange from the tree whilst his older brother tried to hit him with tennis balls - or more trying to hit every orange from the tree when Ryoma tried to reach for it when they lived in America – and numerous other incidents, a lot of them to blame on his father or his brother whom he hadn't seen since the cruise ship incident.

This pain was incredible. _I must be terminally ill or something. This... hurts... _Ryoma thought as he yelped in pain as Momo staggered to stop himself from slipping on a pencil he hadn't seen. Momo instantly flinched at the cry and the feeling of wet tears on his shoulder. It was sinking through further and further.

Momo found a seat in the hallway, usually taken up by hall monitors, as he put Ryoma down slowly and gently. Ryoma was slightly confused as Momo began prodding at Ryoma's mouth. Ryoma opened his mouth, guessing that was what Momo was trying to get him to do as Momo frowned. "Echizen, what did you eat or drink this morning?"

Ryoma thought for a moment as he spoke slowly. "Normal breakfast... ponta... Inui Juice..." Ryoma listed, "I couldn't eat lunch because I felt sick."

Momo sighed as he noticed the shape of Ryoma's canine teeth. They were slowly growing and reshaping half of his teeth. "Your mouth must be killing you."

Ryoma nodded. "Momo-senpai, what's happening?"

Momo sighed as he dug through his back pocket. "Let's just hope that you're not one of 'them' for now, okay?" Momo held out a red pill, ushering for Ryoma to take it.

Ryoma was unsure. Momo was definitely not a doctor. But Momo looked like he knew what he was talking about. Momo wasn't usually serious. The tablets hit Ryoma's tongue and Ryoma instantly spat them back out, despite the fact they decreased his pain by a fraction of the millisecond it sat on his tongue.

Momo's frown only grew worse as he sighed. "Ne, Gaki. I'm going to take you home and sleep, got it?"

Ryoma nodded as he slumped his head over. Whatever was in that tablet was oddly addicting. He wanted more, but his body wouldn't allow it. "What was in that, Momo-senpai?" he asked as he pointed to the tablet on the floor.

Momo sighed. "That was a blood tablet. The fact your body rejected it isn't good. Humans take them in and it doesn't affect them at all, most vampires take them and it helps them heal or quenches their thirst until they can find an adequate source for blood and well... there are a few vampires that cannot take in blood tablets. Their body rejects them... like yours did."

Ryoma really didn't have the patience for this, or his father that was probably waiting at home. He really REALLY didn't want to go home to that childish father of his. "So, You don't know how, but I'm a vampire now? Mada mada dane, Momo-senpai."

Momo was tempted to whack the boy over the back of the head. "It's not my fault. Not my fault at all. You're the one who has turned into one of us."

Ryoma tried to sit up straight as his head wavered. "Can you stop this?"

Momo thought for a moment. "I'll call my dad. He'll bring something over."

Ryoma nodded. "I'll wait in the clubroom."

Momo shook his head. "You're going home."

Ryoma frowned at Momo with cold eyes. "I go home and get worse, or sleep in the clubroom. Your choice. I'd prefer it if I slept in the clubroom, Momo-senpai," Ryoma said, outsmarting his senpai once again, "Oyaji would keep me up with his ranting that I'm dead."

Momo sighed. "Fine. I'll leave a message on Ryuuzaki-sensei's door for when she comes in. You can sleep in her office. It's better than the clubroom."

Ryoma smirked just a little as Momo helped his best friend. "Mada mada dane, Momo-senpai."

(# - #)

The Seigaku tennis teams practice session was well and truly over. The regulars were required to stay back for a little bit, because Fuji had asked them too. Fuji had called Tezuka and said for them to wait after practice. Since it was Fuji, they all had a fair idea of what was happening.

No surprise that it did.

A smiling, bouncing Eiji bounced up to Oishi and almost strangled him to death. "Oh, Oishi! I missed you!"

Oishi smiled. "I missed you too Eiji. I was worried sick."

Momo crossed his arms. "You're always worried sick. Ah! I almost forgot! Dad's coming with some stuff for Ryoma."

Everyone darted their heads to Momo. Momo had failed to mention where Ryoma was the whole lesson. "What? Where is he?" Everyone asked in unison, minus the 'he' and replaced with Ryoma's many different names.

Momo sighed. "Couldn't you smell it?"

Eiji sniffed the air. "There's a new vampire here. O'chibi made a new vampire friend? Maybe a girlfriend?"

Momo shook his head. "No! Echizen is the vampire!"

Everyone turned to Momo. "What did you do?"

Momo backed off in response, instinctively raising his hands to defend himself. "I didn't do it! He was in the middle of English class and passing out on his desk when I noticed. He's sleeping in Ryuuzaki-sensei's office considering how annoying his oyaji is. He hasn't had anything abnormal except Inui Juice."

Everyone turned to Inui. "Inui..."

Inui flinched. "I put nothing in there that is unsafe for humans. I have the recipe in my notebook."

Speak of the... well vampire, Ryoma came outside looking rather pale, but overall better than before. "What's going on? Isn't practice over?"

Eiji instantly glomped the first year. "O'chibi! You're alright! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Forgive me, O'chibi!"

Ryoma flinched. "Eiji-senpai, could you let go?"

Eiji backed off. "Wah! Fujiko! Oishi! O'chibi's mad at me for bitting him!"

"You did what, Kikumaru?" a strong voice came from behind the group, two boys the same age as the third years standing there, one in black coat and the other in a brown one. The second one looked fairly formal, but the other one looked more important.

The group bowed in unison, a sight that would be rare to see. It only happened when no one else was around, or it would blow their cover. "Oujisama!"

Ryoma, however, stood there in a daze, trying to figure out why his teammates were bowing to these two fools and calling one of them a prince.

The paler and more important looking one walked over, standing in front of them. "Enough formalities. Kikumaru, you bit Echizen-kun?"

They all raised but Eiji kept his head bowed. "H-hai." Eiji looked scared out of his wits. Ryoma looked at Yukimura who looked stern and strong as always.

Ryoma opened his mouth and Momo grabbed it, holding it shut. Generally, they looked almost afraid. Tezuka and Fuji both looked normal as always. Everyone else seemed to fear the frail man. "Gomen, gomen, Yukimura. It was an accident on Eiji's half. It was my fault really. We had been busy with practice and naturally, we all forgot to feed on each other. It's my fault for not reminding him," Momo covered.

Yukimura turned to Momo. "Oh? Keigo! What do you think?"

Momo froze as Atobe, the other one, joined them. "I think that it is Kikumaru's responsibility for himself. Don't you agree?"

Yukimura looked at Tezuka. "What about you, Tezuka? You are the heir if something were to happen to me, after all," Yukimura smiled, approaching Tezuka.

Tezuka stayed as stoic as ever. "I believe that it's a mere mistake. No one was harmed... or lets say dead. From now on, we will have to give it our best and don't let our guards down."

Yukimura smirked a little more. "Just like you, Tezuka. You'd be such a lax leader. But, I agree. We had a similar incident in Rikkai except the receiver wasn't within the team. I believe you'd remember her, Tachibana's little sister," Yukimura said, looking Tezuka up and down with analytic eyes, "She's fine of course. Somehow, she already knew that we existed, but she had no idea who was a vampire or not."

Momo inwardly flinched. _Damn it. An! I told you to watch it._

Atobe noticed Momo's look. "Oh, Momoshiro-kun, you knew that An knows? Can you enlighten us to how she found out?"

Yukimura smacked Atobe over the back of his head. "Keigo, leave the poor boy alone. He seems to be in shock. We don't want an unconscious vampire on the floor. Heaven knows what he'll do if something were to trigger inside of him."

Atobe frowned. "That's no reason to hit me."

Yukimura looked at Atobe with stern eyes. "Excuse me?"

Atobe stood and smiled a little, remembering that he was the chief advisor of the prince, but he still didn't have enough authority to stand up against the prince for hitting him when it was Atobe's fault. "Nothing. I was commenting on the marks on the wall. It looks worn out by a lot of training tennis players," Atobe covered up, "But it seems we have a new vampire with us. Enlighten us, Echizen-kun."

Ryoma didn't expect to be addressed. Especially by the 'monkey king'. "Ah, we have no idea how, but he's become a vampire," Fuji smiled, speaking for the tired and ill Echizen.

Yukimura walked over and grabbed Ryoma's chin, yanking his head back to look at his teeth. "He has a good set of fangs, and his eyes speak to me, but he reeks of human. Can you not tell?" he stated as he gently prodded the sharp tip of Ryoma's fangs. Ryoma cringed but a drop of blood hit his tongue and he relaxed a little. It was like an antiseptic, his whole body relaxing and pain washing away with one drop "Feel better, Echizen-kun?" Yukimura asked, "Not many people get to taste a Royal's blood."

Yukimura released Ryoma's head and patted his hair. Ryoma didn't have his hat on because he was just sleeping inside and hadn't changed to play tennis. "Thanks."

Yukimura smiled and brushed a hand gently through his hair, treating Ryoma as if Ryoma was his pet cat. What was more amusing was that Ryoma almost purred. A slight purr escaped his lips, only loud enough for Fuji, Tezuka, Yukimura and Atobe to hear. The four gave an inquisitive look to the freshman. Who would of thought their brave freshman regular who made fun of third years and shaved their heads – Atobe – would purr.

Yukimura smiled. "Well I'm going, until next time. I'll let you off this time, Kikumaru-kun."

Atobe nodded. "Okay, let's go."

Every bid farewell and Fuji patted Ryoma's head once. "We have another little neko-chan, ne?"

Ryoma glared at Fuji, holding his slightly better but still throbbing head. "Don't tell anyone!"

**(A.N: End chapter. Two weeks to update. Considering how long it is and I had a few tests I needed to study for, I'm quite proud actually. Usually this would take me a month, if I update at all -Looks at Fifty things- Woops. Anywho. Please review. Now you know who the prince is. Tee hee.)**


	5. The Need

**Chapter Five – The Need**

_Bi-beep... bi-beep... bi-beep... bi-beep..._

Ryoma swatted his ringing alarm, officially turning it to snooze. The invention of the snooze button had benefits – more sleep – and disadvantages – therefore sleeping in and running late.

Ryoma's more personal, furry and battery-less alarm prodded his cheek and licked him with its sandpaper-like tongue. Of course, Karupin couldn't be swatted to come back in exactly seven or nine minutes. Ryoma had no choice but to get up.

Ryoma felt... hungry, but not for human food. He couldn't describe it. He went downstairs for breakfast anyway. Breakfast went down alright, but not that filling, until he went upstairs to wash off the hot night's development of sweat and he found himself hanging over his toilet, breakfast no longer in his stomach. The shower didn't help either. The enhanced senses made him feel every droplet and heard each one as well. The steam from the hot water left him over the toilet again.

Ryoma was desperate to leave his house, avoiding his father at all costs. His father may have been an idiot, but he wasn't stupid. Nanjiroh had heard Ryoma being sick upstairs and was going to keep Ryoma home. Ryoma was sure of it.

Ryoma had gotten close to Nanako earlier and felt a headache begin to brew and his head become light. He instantly had to pull away to try and think straight. He had no idea what was happening, but he had to get out.

Momo caught up with the desperate Echizen, offering him a ride. "Oi, Echizen. Are you alright? You still look sick."

Ryoma sighed in mild exasperation. "I'm fine. I'm still getting used to this vampire thing."

Momo nodded. "Okay. Anything weird you should let us know about."

Ryoma sighed again. "I'm a vampire. Is that weird enough?"

Momo chuckled. "That's weird. That's definitely weird."

Ryoma nodded. "Agreed."

---

Practice was bearable when Ryoma was only with the regulars. Alas, Tomoka, Sakuno, Katsuo, Kachirou and Horio got too close on numerous occasions. Each time his heart beat faster and his head throbbed.

Ryoma left to get some water with merely a wave of his hand as alert to the other members. He went to the old taps, leaning over the brick backboard. Tomoka bounded up to Ryoma, smiling and giggling a little. "Ryoma-sama! Are you better from yesterday?" She shouted, her hand resting on Ryoma's shoulder. Ryoma turned his head, eyes darting to her. His eyes had become blood red, his eyes responded with an image of Tomoka much worse that the annoying sight of her he usually put up with. Her skin was as pale as a ghost, blood dripping from her neck down to the ground, clothes in a jumbled mess and torn. Her head had fallen back, only the white of his eyes left.

Ryoma's eyes darted back to the drink taps, the water splashing him in the face. He whined and pulled away, wiping his eyes. The image was disturbing even to his own eyes. He doubted he'd look at Tomoka the same way for a while. His stomach had cramped up and his head had begun its abnormal throbbing.

English felt impossible. His heart felt like it was about to burst and his head felt like it was burning, despite the biological impossibility. His skin was almost frozen.

"Echizen-kun, Ryuuzaki-san, can you please get the English charts from my desk? Just ask Kawayama-sensei if she could grab them," the young teacher smiled, fixing her black glasses.

Ryoma stood and walked out of the room with Sakuno in tow. "Ryoma-kun, are you okay? You still look sick from yesterday," Sakuno asked. She shuffled a little under Ryoma's glare. His eyes were abnormally intense.

He looked away. "I'm fine. It's pretty much gone away."

Sakuno nodded. "That's good. I was worried that you were really sick." Ryoma nodded once, avoiding her. Something inside of him was fighting his control. Sakuno walked as silently as she could. Each step echoed and like the otherwise silence would never end. "Uh, Ryoma-kun-"

Sakuno gasped as she felt her back against the wall, her arms pinned by Ryoma's hands. Her wrists were beside her shoulders as she struggled. Ryoma's grip was too strong to break free. She struggled and wanted to scream, but her mouth would not respond. Her eyes widened as Ryoma's face edged closer. Sakuno felt Ryoma's cold skin touching the crook of her neck as she trembled.

"Ryoma-kun..." she stuttered, unsure of how Ryoma would react. Her heart was beating incredibly fast.

"Ne, Echizen, you shouldn't be making out with cute girls in the school hallway. Anyone could interrupt you," A voice trailed, a dark layer behind it, "Like me, I guess. Or maybe you have worse control than I do. That's not something to be proud of."

Sakuno looked at the feminine boy. He had some sort of dark aura surround him. Perhaps it were lust. Anger, maybe? She wasn't sure. "Fuji-senpai!"

Ryoma hissed. "I'm going to the club room. Tell sensei I'm still sick from yesterday," he said with a murderous growl hidden in his voice, "Torikawa-sensei should know I was sick of all people."

Fuji smiled. "Ah, Torikawa-sensei? I was about to give her a message from my sensei. I'll come with you, Sakuno-chan," Fuji said with a sly smile. Ryoma walked out of sight and Fuji turned to Sakuno, "Watch out, Sakuno-chan. We regulars are more dangerous than you think."

---

Ryoma sat up, curled in a ball-like shape, inside a locker. He found peace in its cold darkness. No humans to throw off his control.

The door opened and light blinded him. A harsh hiss escaped from his lips. "Argh, close the door!"

Fuji smirked. "Still brooding that I broke up you and Sakuno-chan? Come on, Echizen."

Momo, obviously from behind Fuji, laughed. "You and Ryuuzaki-sensei's daughter? Sensei is going to kill you!"

Ryoma hissed again, this time even harsher. "I wasn't kissing her!" He hissed maliciously, "Fuji-senpai, don't make up lies!"

Fuji grinned. "It's okay. Oh, Tori-chan said it's okay you skip class as long as you stop attacking her students. She doesn't want to clean up any blood..."

"Tori-chan?" Ryoma asked, covering his eyes and emerging slowly.

"Torikawa-sensei. Tezuka attacked her in our first year. So, she knows about us. What's more surprising is she doesn't hate us. Outside school, she's Yumiko's friend and so we call her 'Tori-chan'," Fuji explained before pulling Ryoma completely out of the locker, "cheer up. I brought food."

Momo's hands clapped together. "Your mother's special recipe?"

Fuji glared at Momo. "You think I'll bring Okaasan's special recipe to school? It has blood in it! Do you know how disasterous it'd be if one of the freshman took a piece stupidly?"

Momo shrugged. "Most likely they'd go to the nurse, then get sent to the hospital when it gets worse, filled with pain killers and die. We'd be one freshman less, which I think has positives and negatives."

Fuji smacked Momo over the head. "You're the food, idiot!"

Momo's eyes widened. "Oh..." silence filled the room for a few moments, "wait, why meeeee?"

Fuji smirked. "Because you're didn't notice that Eiji had gone without blood for a while which got Echizen into this mess in the first place. You also couldn't tell Sakuno and Ryoma were in the hall. Sakuno's heart was about to burst. I think we almost made Tezuka have a fit over it. Not that he told me, but it's Tezuka," Fuji explained, crossing his arms, "Saa, shall we?"

Momo frowned. "Fine. Whadaya mean 'we'?"

Fuji ignored Momo as he looked at the squinting Echizen. His eyes really didn't like that sunlight peeking through the windows. "You get used to drinking blood after a while, Echizen, and what happens afterwards. If An-chan heard what he and Kaidoh did, she'd be heartbrok-"

"Fuji-senpai! You're being super cruel today!" Momo whined, "Who said I loved Tachibana imouto? How do you know what happened?"

Fuji smirked. "I'm from the Fuji family. Enough said," he really had had enough of Momo's whining. He was going to bite Momo himself just to shut him up. He had a better idea. "It's why my sister and I hold the most murders probably in Japan. Yukimura's family are even better than ours and they _have _to kill people to survive."

Momo shuddered. "Once a human. I don't want to know what would've become of me if I didn't become a vampire. I'm sure Echizen doesn't want to know either."

Fuji smiled. _Success... _"Saa... hurry up or Momo will have to explain why he has holes in his neck."

"Echizen I don't like this any more than you probably do right now. Not at all," Momo whined.

Fuji chuckled. "I'm enjoying it. It's amusing."

Momo and Ryoma shuddered. "Sadist..."

Ryoma gulped. He'd only ever seen movies and Eiji where vampires bite people. He was born with the instinct to bite someone. Even in the birth of man, humans didn't bite each other. "You're staying, Fuji-senpai?" He asked curiously.

Fuji nodded, propping himself up against a cold wall out of the entering light. "After you've bitten Momo, we don't know how he'll react, so I'm here to protect you, Echizen," Fuji explained, "and just because it's bound to be amusing."

Momo sighed as he knelt down, Ryoma giving him a quizical look. "You can't reach my shoulder, so unless you want to stand on a chair, I'm kneeling."

Ryoma nodded, edging toward his best friend. He put his hands on Momo's shoulders. A shiver ran down his spine as he remembered the scent of Sakuno when he got this close to her. Just one small touch was what he wanted from her. He blinked, driving the idea of biting Sakuno from his mind. Why did humans have to smell so good?

Ryoma found himself with his head already merely a few hairs away from Momo's neck. His heart was racing as his teeth bit gently as possible into Momo. A tiny trickle of blood leaked onto his tongue. The metalic taste was appealing, Ryoma's teeth digging in further. Momo had grabbed onto Ryoma to stay steadily upright. His whole body had responded to Ryoma's bite. Every inch of his skin had the same indescribable feeling. Like his world was this.

Fuji chuckled as he watched. "I wonder what An would say..." he muttered.

Ryoma bit in deeper, desiring more and more of Momo's blood. His eyes flashed between red and the human gold, if gold was a normal eye colour, they were before. Ryoma stood up, silence filling the room as he wiped his lip. He didn't know what happened, but he felt considerably better.

"Momo?" Fuji asked, stepping forward, "what's going on?"

Momo grabbed Ryoma, his hands shaking to find control. "Teme!"

Fuji was instantly in between them. "Momo! Come, Echizen. Let him settle down," Fuji said, dragging Ryoma away and locking Momo in the clubroom.

Ryoma was startled to say the least. "Fuji-senpai..."

Fuji sat down on a bench. "It's okay. When a vampire is bitten, the bitten feels one of two strong emotions toward the one who bit them: Hatred or desire. Momo, until the bite heals which will be about ten minutes or so, will hate you. But after the bite is healed, everything will be normal. But that's not to say that everytime you bite Momo he'll hate you. He might desire you. It's amusing when Kaidoh-"

Ryoma suddered. "Fuji-senpai!"

Fuji smiled evilly. "Sorry, sorry."

Ryoma sighed. "So I can eat human food now?"

Fuji smiled as he felt a few rain drops. It was strange for early summer. "Of course. Your body just has priorities when you're _'thirsty'._"

Ryoma nodded. "That's good. I'm going to see Ryuuzaki."

Fuji smirked. "Sure but don't let your ego get in the way when you want to apologise to her. No making out either!"

Ryoma ignored Fuji and walked off. Fuji smiled, the warm feeling filling his black heart as a true smile finally creeping up on his face. The darkness of his heart was going to swallow it whole, but he'd enjoy it while it lasted. "That's right. I haven't been thirsty since... Natsu-chan. That's a new record. I should have something, but I'll pass for now," Fuji muttered to himself, patting his knees as he dusted off some dirt and stood up, "No need to aggrivate or tempt my undead side with even one drop. Okaasan will be proud. Eiji will be super happy. But he'll worry. The Fuji family do just cause trouble." The darkness of his heart had already started to feast at the reminants of the warm and fuzzy feeling.

Fuji ignored the desire to smile again. "I'll call Yuuta to see if he'll come home for Otousan's actual birthday, not Okaasan's crazy party."

Tezuka, despite the fact he had no tendacy to sneek up on people, tapped Fuji's shoulder. "You shouldn't scare your brother. He'll avoid you even more," Tezuka stated, though he showed no emotion in his voice, "and you shouldn't talk to yourself unless you want to be taken to a human mental facility and they pump you full of human drugs and well, you know the rest."

Fuji shrugged, noting the dark sky. "I may as well try. He refuses to live in our house because he's the human of the house. It's pretty daunting. He should come home once in a while."

Tezuka sighed. "Ah, there is no getting through to you."

---

Eiji jumped to Fuji's side, his hands on Fuji's shoulders. He would have hugged the tensai, but he was on the phone. "Ne, Yuuta, it's Otousan's birthday. Come home for dinner."

Eiji pouted. He rested his head on Fuji's shoulder. "Fujiko..." he muttered. Fuji smiled, putting his free hand on Eiji's.

"No Yuuta, we won't eat you. We'll try to be human," Fuji grinned before a short pause, "We can eat food," Fuji said before a quick thought, "no food is NOT people!"

Eiji chuckled. "Fuji-kun, don't hurt me! Ah, I'm _bleeding_! Kyaa~h! Fuji-kun, no-!" Eiji faked in a high voice.

"EIJI! That's how you scare Yuuta into _not _coming here!" Fuji almost cried, "I'm not attacking him! He's being cruel."

Momo pouted. "I can say otherwise. You made Echizen bite me and then locked me in the club room for an HOUR. I missed phys ed. Do you know how much I love phys ed? It's my favourite subject!"

"ECHIZEN IS A VAMPIRE TOO?!" Yuuta cried out through the phone. Fuji held his ringing ear. Momo snatched the phone and changed it to loudspeaker. They all completely heard Yuuta previously, but it looked strange if supposedly Fuji was the only one who could hear.

Momo grinned. "Yeah, but I'm curious about how much he sleeps. It's unnatural. Even for humans!"

Eiji smiled as he wrapped his arms further around Fuji. Fuji's skin was warm compared to his, even though they were both equal to almost ice. He had really missed Fuji in his unconsciousness. Eiji had wondered what it would be like to face it as often as Fuji had. It was no wonder why Fuji always seemed to be so far away, even when Eiji tryied to hold him.

_Even vampires have souls, Eiji. Some spirits are destined to fly to new places and see new things. Some will stay where they are. But if a free spirit is caged, what do you think will happen? A cage can only kill a free creature who needs to experience constant changes. It's that cage that kills them. You may not be happy with your free spirit gone, but it dying is much more painful, don't you think? _Eiji's older sister's advice rang through his head. Fuji was a free spirit and Eiji had to watch him from a far. As much as Eiji could wish it, Fuji had never returned Eiji's strongest feelings and it had always been like that.

Fuji smiled. "So you'll come?"

A sigh came across the phone. "Sure, Aniki. If I turn out to be dinner, I'll kill you all!"

Fuji chuckled. "See you then, Yuuta."

The Fuji siblings were mending, just as everyone had hoped. They spoke quite often, usually more of an interrogation of Yuuta, but of course, they got along well.

Ryoma stood in front of the trio, his racket on one shoulder. "Buchou is in a bad mood. You should hurry up."

Fuji smiled a sinister grin. "Ah, he's thirsty again. Tezuka is hopeless. I'll get him sorted. He goes without blood for too long," Fuji then walked off in search of Tezuka. Eiji, in response to Ryoma's arrival, threw his arms around Ryoma with a small cry of 'o'chibi!'

Ryoma gasped as he felt the sudden impact of something almost double his height. "Ah! Eiji-senpai!"

---

Ryoma sighed, his eyes were sharper than an owl's in the night. Clouds hung over the sky and lightning filled the sky. Ryoma, giving up on the thought of sleep, sat up and turned on his lamp.

"That's bright, Echizen-kun," a sinsiter voice stated, "can't sleep?" Ryoma's eyes looked to the window, the blue haired 'prince' sitting on his windowsill. "Want to come out, Echizen-kun? Unless you want to stay here, awake, all night."

Ryoma surprised by Yukimura's sudden appearance, stuttered in shock. "W-what are you doing in my window? _How _did you get to my window?"

Yukimura smiled. "I jumped."

Ryoma threw his sheets back. "Jumped? To my second story window?"

Yukimura grinned. "It's been a while, so I missed the first time. I landed on the roof. But, here I am. Are you coming, Echizen-kun?"

Ryoma thought for a moment before getting up, opening his drawer to get some long pants. He found a pair of jeans from America and took a t-shirt to the bathroom so he could change. He barely knew who Yukimura was, so changing there was awkward.

He returned and Yukimura had a second coat with a similar print on one side. It was written in some sort of ancient language, but Ryoma had never seen anything like it. It didn't even resemble English or Japanese.

Yukimura looked at the symbols. "Ah, it says 'Of the King's Castle'. It has the power to protect you more than a whole squad of vampires. Wear it," Yukimura said, holding it out. Ryoma took it, examining it. It looked just like a coat.

Yukimura smiled as he almost swept Ryoma off his feet quite literally. "Let's go right? No need to wait around."

---

Ryoma looked around, unsure of what was happening. Even he, technically a newborn still, was being revered. He felt a hand against his chest. "Echizen-kun, wait here. If anyone tries to touch you... well they can't. So don't freak out when they can't," Yukimura explained hastily, storming over confidently to something... appealing to Ryoma. He smelled blood. Fresh _human _blood. Ryoma looked and saw two figures, one drinking the human one's blood. The vampire's hair had blood stains, but stains from someone else than the dead human in his hands.

Yukimura stopped, a metre away as part of the crowd cleared. "Did you forget the boundries, Syuusuke-kun? This is Yukimura land."

The other fiure turned, his eyes bright red and blood dripping from his mouth, chin almost covered and lips stained red.

"It seems you have too, Seiichi. Thus, penalty must be taken from your family. You own law entitles my family to ten humans and one visit to Yukimura land. Not to mention, any humans we kill in our visit do not count in our... gifts," The other growled as Ryoma stepped forward a little, his tongue unconsciously licking his lips at the sight of blood, "I feel generous so this one can count as number one. Nine more. If you had not visited Seigaku, you would be correct and the Fuji family would be in debt."

Yukimura folded his arms. "That's actually correct, but one must ask or at least alert us to your arrival. If it were father, for example, you would be dead on this very spot," Yukimura explained, "nine humans will be at the Fuji house by dawn."

Ryoma barely recognised his senior. Black clothes with red eyes were creepy enough without blood dripping from his mouth and a dead body beside him. Red eyes caught sight of him as he spoke his senpai's name. "Fuji-senpai..."

If war could break out then and there, it would have. Fuji threw the dead body to hungry looking vampires. The rage of hell filled the room. "Yukimura Seiichi, I believe you've also passed another boundary," Fuji growled, "Echizen, take it off."

Yukimura stood in between. "Uh, Echizen-kun came willingly. I believe that makes him a traitor, rather than me a criminal."

Fuji stepped forward, the area around him filled with incredible darkness. Ryoma heard people whimpering and being sick at the mighty force of the aura. "You took a newborn. He is yet to know the laws. He has not attended any of the elementary education that is nessesary to learn all the law and history. Therefore, he is not a traitor and you are as bad as criminals to humans," Fuji growled loudly, "Ryoma, remove the coat."

Yukimura held onto Ryoma, disabling his ability to move. "Echizen, please refrain from removing that coat."

The words were as if they were controlling his actions. Fuji frowned. "Yukimura, war will errupt if. You. Do. Not. Let. Him. Go."

Ryoma couldn't move his arms. "Senpai-"

Yukimura chuckled. "You smell it too, don't you? His blood is power to vampires. You know that better than anyone"

Fuji hissed. "Lies! Echizen's blood, now he is a vampire has no significance. That's why I made him one of us. It was difficult to catch Inui off guard, but I got his juice and made Ryoma a vampire."

Ryoma's eyes widened in shock. "What?!"

Yukimura sneered. "Oh? Well, he's on my side as long as that coat stays on his shoulders. He also smells human to me."

Fuji walked to Ryoma. "He's free from you as long as his conversion took place in Fuji territory."

Yukimura smirked. "I beg to differ."

Fuji stood in front of Ryoma, a slight tremble in his steps. He grabbed the coat, his arms burning, hands already blistering. He bit his lip as he tore it from Ryoma's shoulder, beginning to pull on the other. He bit harder, holding in a scream as one hand refused to move. The coat, once removed, hit the floor and Fuji stepped on the symbol, the coat turning to ashes.

Fuji let out an ear splitting scream as he fell to the ground with his head between his knees. His head was in his hands, barely supported by his legs. The pain was indescribable, burning, throbbing, stabbing, splitting, excruciating and almost unbearable.

Ryoma, free of the coat, knelt down to his senpai. "Are you alright, Fuji-senpai?"

Fuji hissed in pain as he stood up, eyeing his blackened fingers. His entire arm was black, white and red from burns. "Echizen, let's go. Nine humans by dawn, Yukimura. I'll discuss this issue at a later date."

Ryoma followed his senior, his trust better placed in him than the blue haired captain of Rikkai Dai.

Fuji, once they left, smiled. "That's a bit of the scary side of vampires."

Ryoma looked at the blood still around Fuji's mouth, his mouth watering at the scent. Fuji noticed and smiled a little, stopping in his tracks. "Ryoma, come here," Fuji said, ushering Ryoma to come closer because he couldn't use his arms. Ryoma did as he was told.

He watched the blood get closer, his mouth opening in thirst. Fuji's lips gently met Ryoma's, blood from Fuji's mouth mixing into Ryoma's. Fuji smirked a little, noticing just how hungry a newborn could be. He deepened the kiss, spreading more of the left over blood into Ryoma, Ryoma responding only in thirst. Ryoma was barely aware he was seemingly passionately kissing his senior. His desire was stronger at this point.

Fuji broke away with a smirk. "You're so thirsty you just kissed me. I must remember to bring a camera next time."

Ryoma gulped, just realising what he had done. "You are not telling anyone!"

Fuji smirked, holding back a true smile, his heart beginning to beat a slight bit faster and a warm feeling returning. "It'll be our little secret. But only if you promise to do it again."

Ryoma didn't know what was worse. "Fine... only once though!" he grumbled. He figured out that his integrity was more important.

---

Fuji grinned at Eiji, despite the fact it was entirely fake. He couldn't hold onto a tennis racket, yet he came to early morning practise anyway. There was practise before dawn on some days because vampires didn't sleep much. It had been a cold morning, so gloves, despite the pain they alone had caused was excruciating, were an idea until now. His sister had tried to cover the marks on his arms and had succeeded for the most part. His own body had decreased the severity, but it felt only fractional compairing to his roughly covered hands that were still black, red and blistering. His hand was so stiff he couldn't move it very well.

Fuji undid his sports bag, trying to find the cream that covered the black with a skin tone cooling solution. He managed to get that on only by a miracle. If only the Fuji family got more miracles.

His hand trembled as he entered the court to try and warm up. It was regulars only at this early hour, the others to arrive at least an hour later.

Fuji wrapped his hand around the racket loosely. He gripped it and yelped, releasing his grip and dripping the racket on the ground. "Damn it..." he cursed, trying to pick it up again, this time making him release a cry of pain, tears prickling at his eyes and lip about to bleed from Fuji's restraining bite.

"Fuji-senpai!" Momo, Kaidoh and Ryoma exclaimed, the remainder of the regulars only exclaiming "Fuji!"

Ryoma looked at Fuji's arms. "Ah, Yukimura..." he hissed quietly. Ryoma forgot that he was surrounded by vampires who could all hear his whisper as if he were talking normally.

Tezuka frowned, approaching Ryoma. "What do you mean?"

Eiji was wrapped around Fuji as Fuji's eyes stung, red liquid pouring from his eyes. Tears did not exist as a vampire, thus blood took it's place. "Fujiko, are you alright?"

Ryoma looked at Fuji. "Fuji-senpai removed one of Yukimura's coats. Yukimura, because I didn't know, tricked me into wearing it."

Fuji looked up. "It's fine. Really. It's healed a lot over the last few hours. Give it a few days... or weeks to heal."

Momo gaped."Weeks?! What can a coat do?"

Fuji pointed to his zipper. "Eiji please help. I can't-"

Eiji smiled, taking Fuji's regular jacket off and Fuji whinced a little. Fuji got a bottle of water to wash off his sister's solution, revealing the severity of his arms. Black, burnt and his skin was almost flaking, red burns still blistering, bones stiff and painful, white, dead skin cells covering any seeming unharmed areas.

Everyone gasped. Tezuka looked at Inui. "Call Oishi Kenji," Tezuka ordered and Inui found the phone.

Kaidoh, with the minimal injury knowledge he had, searched for some ice or an ice-pack. Burns were painful and injuries usually took some sort of response to ice, even if it were purely a numbing effect.

Momo sat. "I don't get what is between you and Yukimura, not at all!"

Fuji moved to the bench to sit. "Ah, I forgot history class ignores the existance of the Fuji family for most elementary education centers," Fuji smirked, trying to revive the normal mood, "Shall I explain?"

Eiji nodded. "Please do! Fujiko! You always seem to get in trouble from Yukimura."

Fuji smiled as Kaidoh handed him the icepacks."Thanks Kaidoh," he said and Kaidoh blushed, "Well, when humans were first alive on the earth, vampires were born from illness and used to be a type of blood disorder. That you were taught. About three thousand years later, probably more, the Yukimura and Fuji family were not families but brothers.

"The two brothers got along really well, inseperable, until a human woman came in between. She loved both brothers and wished she could marry both. The brothers loved her and faught for her. Of course, this caused a deadly rivalry between them.

"One day, the younger brother and therefore not the heir began to loose control. He almost had the vampires discovered. He lost control and killed the human woman, despite his love for her. The older brother was enraged and cursed the younger brother. Time passed and because of the broken bond between the brothers, they became seperate families, both at war over right and wrong.

"The families still despise each other, and the Fuji family is still cursed. The Fuji family, however, since abandoning the throne, were removed of the illness that fills every Yukimura. Another reason why there is hatred between the two.

"Now, if we break a law set in, there are consequences. If Yukimura or any of his people enter Seigaku, you're to tell me. I'm deadly serious."

Tezuka nodded at Fuji's demanour was entirely serious. Midway, Fuji had given a few whinces of pain. "We will," Tezuka assured him.

Eiji smiled a little. "Mou, Fujiko, that means Yukimura and you are very distant cousins."

"Oi, Syuusuke! What's with this?" A loud voice called, "It's not even dawn and you've already killed all the sense of reason I have."

Fuji stood, turning to his mother and sister. "Okaasan, Oneesan?"

The two brunette women walked over to Fuji. Fuji's mother sighed. "Syuu-chan, your arm is horribly destoryed. Come home. You know better than to mess with Seiichi-chan. You used to get along so well," She murmured gently.

Yumiko crossed her arms. "Yet alone, you need to explain whatever you did last night."

Fuji reached for his tennis racket except he stopped at the tiniest touch. "I'm fine, Okaasan, Yumiko-neesan."

"Syuusuke, get in the car!" Fuji's mother growled, a dark aura filling the atmosphere. The regulars cringed as the dark aura dug into them. Ryoma noted that this one was _worse _ that Fuji's the previous night.

Fuji frowned. "Saa, mata ne?" he smiled a little and walked with his mother and sister.

---

(**AN:Oh my gosh, that took forever to type up!! 14 pages!! Wow. Oh well, I owed a long chapter. The next chapter is done, but I have to type it up. Typing 14 pages in one sitting has pretty much killed me. Ohe well. The next chapter is coming soon, so please review!! Thank you!)**


	6. The Dark

(A.N: I'm going to start calling Syuusuke – Syuusuke and Yukimura – Seiichi... other than in speech, because well, I can't really change what they call each other... that'd just kinda make the story weird. It's just to relieve confusion. It gets really complicated in explanations... That's it. Please read, review and above all, enjoy.)

Chapter six – The Dark

Eiji pouted. His best friends were both absent. Oishi was with his grandfather, head of the medical facilities and one of the best vampire doctors around. Syuusuke was injured by Seiichi and was dragged home by his evil mother and sister.

Ryoma seemed better at least. He sat under his usual shaded spot, despite the fact it was still pretty dark outside, hat pulled over his face as he lay in thought since sleep didn't come very easily anymore.

"Momo! Phone!" Kaidoh called as a chorus of 'Ore wa Momo-chan!' sung by Momo himself in a recording, rang from the mobile in Kaidoh's hand.

Momo ran over to Kaidoh and answered it. The voice on the other end was really quiet. It was probably someone who didn't want the others to know what was going on. "Ah, okay. Later? Now? Okay, I'll be right there. See you in a minute or two."

Tezuka, who obviously heard Momo's half of the conversation, nodded at Momo in approval. Ryoma looked at the clock face just through the window of the clubhouse. "Oi, Momo-senpai. Can you drop me near home on the way? Oyaji will be up soon," Ryoma asked. Momo grinned.

"If you can catch me first!" Momo teased. There was no doubt that Ryoma would catch Momo thanks to the addition of usually concealed vampire abilities and unnatural human ones, which made him incredibly fast. Kaidoh, if he were allowed to show his whole abilities, would have been much, much faster.

Ryoma smirked. "Mada mada dane, Momo-senpai."

Momo stopped outside the Echizen house. "How do you plan to get inside?"

Ryoma smirked. "I'll jump."

Momo shook his head. "Jump? Are you crazy?"

Ryoma shrugged. "Yukimura got on the roof. I can get to my window."

Momo crossed his arms. "You'll end up over on the roof of the next house, or like a bug that crashed into the wall and went splat. I suggest climbing. It's easier, trust me."

Ryoma shrugged again. "Jaa, on your way back?"

Momo smirked. "Sure."

Syuusuke sat with the blonde girl's head in his lap, gently trying to stroke a hand through her hair. She was going to wake up soon, so Syuusuke prayed that Momo would get there before then. It was hard enough thinking up ways to convince her brother that she wasn't kidnapped.

The front door opened and Momo's head peeked in. "Hey, Fuji-senpai, I'm here."

Syuusuke smiled. "Over here! I can't really move."

Momo saw the girl on his lap. "Tachibana imouto!"

Syuusuke's smile decreased. "In sealing his debt, Yukimura's trying to feed us An-chan. Keep an eye on her. Kippei would have no idea what's going on."

An stirred. "Aniki? You sound like Fuji-kun from Seigaku."

Momo smirked. "You're not at home, Tachibana imouto."

An snapped up, looking around. "What? Momo! Where am I?" she asked as she turned to see Syuusuke in pain from the sudden impact with his arm. "Oh, Fuji it was you! What happened?"

Syuusuke, since An was now off his lap, moved a little. "It's okay. We're going to settle this. Just be careful."

An pouted. "Now you sound like Kippei-oniichan. Tell me! I already know about vampires! I was bitten by one not that long ago!"

Momo frowned. "I don't get it either! Fuji-senpai is bad at explaining"

Syuusuke sneered. "Yukimura tried to feed An to my family and obviously, he failed in doing that."

An and Momo raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Why?"

Syuusuke sighed. "Because Yukimura trespassed on Fuji land he owed ten human bodies. An happened to be some attempt at number ten."

Momo was confused. His father had not told him any of this. "Fuji land? What is going on? I don't get it. Not at all."

Syuusuke pointed to the crest on a wall, the symbol detailing the 'evil' side of a similar crest beside it. "There are three crests in my family, each deciding where in the vampire world we sit. I sit in the dark on and Yumiko sits into the one beside it."

An smiled. Finally, she was being accepted to be considered in explanations. "And Yuuta is in the third? It isn't on the wall by the way."

"He's human. He has no crest," Syuusuke explained, "We have one of the third crest, but mother put it somewhere far away from me because she's worried if she put it up it'll hit me on the head and well, something like this will happen to my head..." Syuusuke said, raising his arms. "The Yukimura family did something similar... Yukimura's just not allowed within three metres of the crest I belong to. It makes a bit of sense."

Momo and An nodded. "Okay... now why do you have those crests?" Momo asked.

"We have the crests to decide whose side we're on. Yukimura doesn't belong to either of the two on the wall, so he's on the Yukimura side and I don't belong to either the lighter one or the one mother won't put up, so I'm on the Fuji side. Yukimura can't come into the area owned by my crest without asking for approval and receiving it, as I can't go into his. It's why I never _ever _go to Rikkai," Syuusuke finished.

An stood up, looking at the crests closely. She was almost inspecting them. "They're interesting... almost like maps, but different. They're written like in an ancient script and coloured to look like something else..."

Syuusuke smiled. "Exactly. They're maps of owned land. Most people only see the Yukimura one or the one in the middle so they just kind of look like fancy patterns. Especially when only printed on shirts as logo things," Syuusuke stood up and walked over to the dark one. He pointed to a bit off center, "That's the Fuji house there. Seigaku is... there. The vampires, unless related to Yukimura or me, well Yukimura_ and _I, do not belong to any crest unless they pledge to it. The Atobe family, despite the fact they're not related, tend to side with the Yukimura's despite the fact they, and Tezuka, are part of the neutral crest."

"Tezuka-buchou?"

"Until another rises, Tezuka is secondary heir to the Yukimura throne," Syuusuke decided to add.

A knock came on the door. "Fuji-san! Is anyone home?" Momo and An stopped asking questions as they looked to the door and then Syuusuke.

Syuusuke returned to his smirked with closed eyes. "Come in! The door is open. I can't open it at the moment!"

An older looking man, in his sixties maybe seventies, walked in, a kind expression on his face. He looked like a wise, elderly gentleman who loved his family. Nothing about his appearance seemed to express the word 'vampire'.

"My, Syuusuke, you've grown since I saw you last. How do you like Seigaku?" the man smiled, "I hope you don't mind I brought Syuuchirou along. He's too sick to stay at home."

Fuji looked up. "Is he alright, Oishi-jii?"

"Call me Oji-kun, ne, Syuusuke? Syuusuke's been sick for a week or two, but it's getting worse so he's staying with me today. He might learn something new!" the old man chuckled, 'Oji-kun' a play on his name 'Kenji' and the Japanese word 'ojiisan' meaning grandfather.

Oishi walked through the door. "It's not that bad, Oji-kun. I could have gone to school."

Kenji smiled as he looked at Momo and An, clearly ignoring Oishi's comment. "Friends of yours, Syuusuke?"

Syuusuke nodded. "This is Momoshiro Takeshi, Sousuke's step son. He's a second year at Seigaku. This is Tachibana An. She's human but she knows about us. A lot about us actually. I think she knows more than Echizen now."

Kenji bowed. "Oishi Kenji, Syuuichirou's grandfather. Nice to meet you both," Kenji smiled, Oishi coming into the main room, "Can Syuuichirou lay down? He's going pale again."

Syuusuke smiled. "It's fine."

Oishi sighed. "I"m fine, Oji-kun!"

Kenji patted Oishi's shoulder a bit roughly, but nothing that a normal person couldn't stand up to. Oishi staggered forward, standing up and holding his head. "Go, unless you want to mess up this beautiful lounge of theirs. Some of the stuff in here is older than your great great grandmother," Kenji said, 'theirs' meaning the Fuji family. Kenji sat across from Syuusuke. "So, what did you do?"

Syuusuke held up his arms, showing the severeness of his wounds, "I burned them, the bones are all screwed up and well, I don't know what else because you can see why..."

An, who was actually taking note of the extent of the injury this time, and Oishi gasped. Kenji was shocked. "Oh my, Syuusuke. How did you manage that?"

Syuusuke smirked. "I took a friend of ours' coat off. Yukimura tricked him into wearing a crested one, the Yukimura crest of course, and I tried to free him."

Kenji sighed as he put down his bag beside the chair. "Crest, huh? That was plenty stupid of you. You were alone in Yukimura territory again, weren't you? What did Tadashi tell you? You're lucky you're still alive to tell the tale."

Syuusuke rolled his eyes. "You've made me feel thirty years younger. Thank you, Oji-kun," he remarked, "Now I feel like a five year old who has just tried to drown his fish, please continue."

"Wait a minute, thirty years younger? How _old _are you people?" An asked in surprise.

Kenji chuckled. "He's joking around, An-san. He does that every time someone tells him off. Traditional vampires used to live sixty, well probably more, times longer than humans, but it's slowly been decreasing over generations because we tried to act like humans. So now, we live the same amount... roughly. It depends when you were born and how you were raised... I look like I'm in my sixties, but I'm ninety four because I'm in the last generation that lives longer. I live one and a half times longer... so I still have a few years to go," he said with a small laugh, "You've always talked like an old man, Syuusuke. Like your old man actually. Everyone tells me I'm crazy to think you're more like your father than your mother."

Syuusuke frowned. "Now, that's nonsense. My father is the most professional and least humane person I know. He doesn't laugh, smile or cry and he spends all his time at work. He only comes home for birthdays."

Kenji laughed as he touched Syuusuke's hands. Syuusuke yelped a little and Kenji tutted. "Still so painful, Syuusuke? You'd never guess Tadashi did something like this before your parents married. He always smiled and said afterwards, 'Next time, I'll try to remember to bring someone else. Unless I can't and then I'd have no choice but to do it again.' Then I think he didn't have to do it again, but he still recites it every time he sees anyone from the Yukimura family."

Syuusuke frowned. "It'd makes sense, except the smiling part. Father would _never _do that."

Kenji looked at An. "I'm curious. How did you find out about vampires? I'm not going to tell the Yukimura family. I've never really been on their side but, well I have to help them if they're hurt too."

An smiled. "I kinda saw blood on that guy, threw a joking accusation and he said it was true," she said, pointing to Momo, "then I was attacked by someone from Rikkai not long ago. So now I kinda know a lot about vampires."

Momo frowned. "You know that still hasn't healed yet..."

An put a hand on her neck. "Yeah, I know. I have to hide it from Kippei-oniichan."

Kenji smiled. "I bet Seiichi took you in to talk about that. He probably would have been intrigued in the fact you knew about vampires already. But not many humans know, so you should be honored."

An looked at Momo and Syuusuke. "Well, it seems Ryoma-kun knows, so there are a few."

Momo rubbed the back of his head. "I wouldn't really count Echizen in the human count... he's kinda a vampire now too."

An gaped. "What? How'd he become a vampire?"

Momo sighed, "Well, we don't know."

Syuusuke muttered something incomprehensible to Kenji and Kenji frowned, talking back the same way.

It translated to something like:

"_I know how..." Syuusuke quietly stated_

"_You did what? Do you know what Seiichi would do if he knew?" Kenji pointed out, "How did you manage it, by the way?"_

_Syuusuke smiled a little. "Well, Inui isn't that hard to distract. You just point him in some direction of data and, well you're done."_

_Kenji frowned. "So you did it?"_

_Oishi sat up. "Syuusuke! What did you hope to do by making him one of us?"_

_Syuusuke looked at Oishi with angry eyes. "I was protecting him. You probably didn't smell it, but I did. He smelled a bit different to normal humans. Like An-chan does. But that doesn't mean I'm going to change her because he is surrounded by vampires everyday."_

_Kenji sighed. "You're all so troublesome. He turned out alright?"_

_Syuusuke nodded as Oishi laid back down and held his head. Syuusuke smiled."Thirsty as a newborn usually is, but he has good control. He holds back for a while. I doubt we need to watch over him too much, except for the Yukimura side of i-"_

"Oi, senpai, Oji-kun... can you at least talk in Japanese? We don't know what you're saying," Momo pointed out. The arguing stopped.

Kenji smiled. "Sorry, we got carried away."

Momo noticed the sun peeking through the windows. "I should get An home before Tachibana gets up."

An smiled. "You finally called me An, Momo. I'm proud of you."

Momo stood up. "Oh, I'm sorry. Let's go, _Tachibana imouto._"

An pouted. "It's _An, _Momo!"

Syuusuke smiled. "Bye, you two. Don't take advantage of the stillness outside. I'm sure Tachibana wouldn't be pleased, right?"

"Fuji-senpai!" Momo and An shouted together.

Syuusuke smiled wider. "Oh, please," Fuji rolled his eyes, "I already knew-"

"We're going now. I'll see you at school," Momo said, interrupting Fuji, "It was good meeting you, Oji-kun. Get better soon, Oishi-senpai."

Kenji chuckled as he tapped Syuusuke's knee, ushering him to stop teasing the pair. "It was. Take care, Momoshiro, An-san."

Oishi merely whined, half asleep and seemingly in pain, but the message was clear: 'take care and make sure Eiji doesn't do anything else that's stupid again'.

The door closed and Kenji shook his head. "You love torturing others, just like your mother."

"I would have to agree with you there or I'd be lying," Fuji said as Kenji held his arms, dabbing them with a solution that was beginning to remove some burns and heal it over. But it was still painful of course. "Ah, ITAI! That hurts! What do you think you're doing? I believe the term that describes my mother and I is 'sadist' not 'masochist'."

Kenji chuckled. "I wonder what your friends would say if they heard you whining like this. I bet you wouldn't be the same mysterious, sadistic murderer you pretend to be."

Fuji sighed, "Maybe you're right," he said, faking a thoughtful expression, "But probably not. I can find the bodies to prove it."

Momo smiled, letting An down from the back of his bike. An almost _skipped _off, a delightful smile on her face. She put her hands behind her back and smiled even brighter. Momo felt his heart skip a beat.

An looked at her house. "I still can't believe you made it across town in... four minutes and thirty eight seconds," she remarked, "Now how to get inside is the next problem."

Momo put his bike against the fence and smiled. "I know how. Show me which window leads to your room."

An, unsure of why Momo was asking to see her window, quietly led the way. Momo was so quiet she had to check he was still behind her.

An pointed to her window. Momo inspected it for a moment with words she only expected Inui to use. He then scuffed a patch of dirt and walked back to An. He gently swept her off her feet in bridal position and headed to the marked spot. Her heart was acting like crazy while she tried to protest but Momo shushed her.

"Don't distract me or I'll miss. You're lucky your window is open," Momo remarked, taking a large stride back, "You may want to close your eyes."

An couldn't close her eyes as she felt the power from Momo's legs took two long strides before An felt the pressure of the wind on her face. It was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time, like those movies where the hero is on the verge of death, usually a horrible one, but survives to save the day. Except this was real.

Then it finished. The window was closed behind them and it was darker than outside. An was clutching onto Momo and her knuckles were white as Momo just stood there, taking note of every detail. An finally let go, but not entirely. Momo's chest was noticeably cool in the early summer morning.

Momo lowered her feet to the floor, letting her gain her most likely misplaced balance. She looked at his shirt in her hands for a moment more.

"I have to go," Momo stuttered, "you know..."

An smiled, "Okay, visit me soon. You don't sleep so, maybe we can sneak out. That would be fun."

Momo chuckled. "I guess. Friday, after Tachibana is asleep?"

An stood on her toes, giving a quick kiss on Momo's lips. "It's a date," she smiled. Momo was confused and An laughed at his slight blush, "I'm only teasing you. You should go, Momo."

Momo smiled and chuckled nervously. "Ah, that's true. Friday then. Bye."

An smiled. "Bye."

Momo jumped out of An's window with a small wave. An ran to the window, watching Momo ride away.

Syuusuke laid on his large bed, tossing a tennis ball in the air and catching it repetitively. Kenji had healed his arms for the most part, his arms only with a tiny sting of pain left. At least he could play tennis again.

He found himself in deep thought. Mostly about his best friend. He didn't deserve a friend like Eiji. Everyday, Eiji would smile and laugh, something Syuusuke wished he could do for a long time. Sure, he did smile now and again lately, but laughter was often forced.

The door creaked open. "Syuusuke, are you alright?" The ball continued to rise and fall at the same rhythm as Syuusuke's chest. Syuusuke's sister sat on the edge of the bed. "You can't mope around in here all of your life. Eiji called to see if you're okay."

Syuusuke caught the ball. "I don't understand, neesan. I don't deserve Eiji. I can't control myself and yet, he's treating me like I'm an innocent human."

Yumiko smiled. "Yeah, you do deserve him. Since you fought with Saeki a few years ago now, you stopped smiling and laughing. But lately, it's been coming back. I don't know if it's Eiji or not, but I think you owe him a chance."

Syuusuke shrugged and began to throw the ball again. "I guess. What about that half-Spanish guy you had, Kiyoshi? He's still avoiding you?"

Yumiko smiled just a little, but it was a sad smile. "I haven't heard since he left. His little sister was pregnant and one of his other sisters was in a plane crash. Not to mention, I had just told him I was a vampire," She said, "But it's not about me. Go out with Eiji, just once. Please? He deserves it."

Syuusuke sighed. "I guess I have no choice. Even if it's just once."

**End chapter.**

**I'll update the next chapter soon. Please review!!**


	7. The Return

(A.N: I was rushing chapter five, so I went back and fixed that. Sorry about the inconvenience. I also installed an actual language checker… just because my computer doesn't like editing when it's set in English (Aus), which is all time and it's annoying… but enough about that.

Note: there are a lot of OC's but it's to bring the regulars and important characters further into the story. Not to mention I made up a name for Fuji's mother and then realised, 'WAIT, she has a name! AH!' and had to change it all.

Without them, it would be hard for the plot to continue. Don't worry. They're only the coal for this stories train… Wow. I just created a metaphor for no reason. I'll just stop here.

Most of my exams are over now, well, the ones I study day and night for anyway, so uploads should become regular again.

Please: Read, review and most importantly, enjoy.)

**Chapter Seven - The Return**

Eiji grinned, dragging Syuusuke to an ice cream stall. Of course, Eiji ordered a strawberry ice cream. It was his favourite flavour. It was the flavour of his toothpaste and anything else he could. If he could cover it in strawberry flavoured syrup, he would cover all of his food. Blood was the main exception.

Eiji smiled as he looked at Syuusuke. He tapped his shoulder to wake Syuusuke from his daydream, "Want an ice cream?"

Syuusuke looked at Eiji. The Thursday pre-dawn morning was actually quite quiet, but that was mainly because it was only four-thirty in the morning, obviously much too early for anyone who slept. The ice cream stall was the only one open in town at this unruly hour, run by a vampire himself. They had no idea who he actually was, but he didn't need sleep and his daughter helped him reguarly.

Syuusuke smiled gratefully. "Thanks but I'm alright. Just get yours," he said, trying to sound enthusiastic. He knew that ice cream was one of Eiji's favourite human foods. Ice cream at four-thirty was a very rare feat.

Eiji pouted. "Are you thirsty?" he asked curiously.

Syuusuke shook his head. "Not at all. I had something to drink before we left," he lied, except the drink part. He had consumed three three-hundred millilitre canisters of blood and that had barely satisfied him for long. It had only been an hour and he was thirsty again. One canister usually had a vampire settled for a few _days._

Eiji smiled and handed the kind ice cream man 180 yen, roughly a dollar eighty American dollars. He walked peacefully beside Syuusuke. "Want some?"

The regulars didn't care for the germ business anymore. They shared blood and that was worse than a bit of saliva. They were immune to human illness anyway.

Syuusuke shook his head. "I'm fine, really."

Eiji pouted again, but there was still a smile creeping up on his face. "But it's strawberry!" he insisted, "are you sure you're not thirsty? If you nee-"

"I'm fine, Eiji," Syuusuke interrupted, "where do you want to go?"

Eiji thought out allowed for a moment, "How about the park?"

Syuusuke smiled. "The park it is," he smiled somewhat. Going out with Eiji had been alright. Eiji wasn't the kind of person to hold hands and fawn over the other. Eiji was too bouncy to do that. He'd spot something and bounce over to it, urging Syuusuke to come see, just like a small child.

Eiji's smile was quite content as they walked through the quiet park. There were only the sounds of birds and the occasional person going for a walk with their pet before preparing for work. "Thanks for today, Fujiko!" Eiji smiled, "But you didn't have to do it."

Syuusuke raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? What are you talking about?"

Eiji skipped a little, a smile bright on his face. He had a certain spring in his step. "I know you don't like me like I like you. I don't really mind because you're still my best friend, with Oishi of course. No matter what happens, Fujiko, I'm right here."

"In the park?" Syuusuke teased. Eiji almost hit him. "Thanks Eiji, you're my best friend too. Anything and I'll do it. Even if it's killing someone or myself even."

Eiji actually hit Syuusuke this time. "Don't talk like that! I'd _never _want you dead."

Syuusuke chuckled a little, "I know."

Eiji smiled, putting his hands behind his back and walking with a slight hop. "He's incredibly lucky to have you. I don't think either of you see it yet, but I see it. I'm sure the others do too."

Syuusuke looked at Eiji. "What? I don't understand. What are you talking about?" he questioned.

Eiji laughed. "I know something the _genius _doesn't know! I'm not telling you! That ruins it!" he teased, poking out his tongue playfully.

Syuusuke sighed. "Fine…" he fumed a little.

Syuusuke furred his eyebrows as he threw the tennis ball up and down once again. He'd been at it for hours. Quite literally. He got home at the early hour of five-thirty and it was current seven-fourty five. That meant he was going to have to run to school.

Whenever he was in thought, he was laid on his bed, tossing the tennis ball in the air at the precise height that just missed the roof by a centimetre. It took much practise, but he got the perfect spin and power to do so.

He sighed, catching the ball and flicking it into the air again. Eiji was starting to talk like a preacher, or maybe an old man. Just hearing those words from the lips of Eiji was considerably weird.

His eyes were following the tennis ball, letting his mind wander as far as it could. What had Eiji meant?

_He's incredibly lucky to have you. I don't think either of you see it yet, but I see it. I'm sure the others do too._

Syuusuke sighed, caught the ball, and rolled over in frustration. Everyone beside the regulars had always seemed to talk to him cryptically and now Eiji was starting. One day everyone would and Syuusuke would be as clueless as he was when he talked to his father. There was _no way _he could discover what was going on in his head. He closed himself off, like Syuusuke tried to, probably for a similar reason; to protect everyone else from himself.

Syuusuke heard the doorbell, the scent of a familiar _human _figure at the door. He quickly resumed throwing the tennis ball, changing the spin and calculating the changes he needed to make.

Downstairs, Yumiko opened the door and stood in shock. The man outside the door was clearly not pure-Japanese. He had an apologetic expression on his face.

"Yumiko, I-"

He staggered backward at the impact of something round to his face. The tennis ball rolled back inside the door and somehow in the direction it came from.

Yumiko frowned. "Syuusuke!"

"I'm upstairs, Neesan," Syuusuke shouted, faking innocence.

"Yuuta isn't home and we all know your control when it comes to tennis! Don't hit people in the face!" Yumiko shouted to the room upstairs and almost beside the front entrance. The spin on that ball must have been amazing to make it curve not only out of Syuusuke's room but to then curve in the opposite direction to get to the door and outside to the man still standing there.

Said man staggered to his feet. "It's okay. If I was in his position and could do that, I would have done it too," he chuckled, "Yumiko, I'm sorry and didn't tell you what was going on."

Yumiko smiled and hugged him. "I'm just glad you're back, Kiyoshi. I get it. Your family was going through it's own crisis stage. Ours lives in it."

Kiyoshi smiled, returning the embrace. "I thought yours was the crisis," he chuckled.

Yumiko hit him lightly in the side. "Don't be mean," she scolded playfully, "how is your family?"

Kiyoshi followed Yumiko inside, gathering he was allowed in since she just asked him a question. "Well, Chiko is studying really hard to speak English. She has to go to England to write several articles on an event that's occurring there. Hiro is still trying to control his five-year-old girl. Hiro's wife works a lot. Hiro thinks he'll get back to work when Kiko starts school next year. Mika is alright after her crash, she has a few scars, but no major damage done there," he replied.

Yumiko smiled. "That's great, but I thought it was Ren in the crash. I gathered when you said Ren and Mika then followed with plane crash and pregnant you meant in that order."

Kiyoshi smiled. "Well, she's marrying her _fiancé _in a month despite the fact he's seventeen, which is illegal in most countries, but Ren had her baby boy. She's eighteen, by the way. I don't think her and her fiancé have been apart for longer than an hour since Taiki was born."

Yumiko folded her arms. "Eighteen? She's not even come of age in Japan."

Kiyoshi nodded. "It's okay. His mother is a lawyer, so she sorted out all the legal stuff. Since the _whole _family, and I mean everyone, are moving here, and his brother and father are already living here for a while, they've decided to marry here in Japan."

"Oh! Kiyoshi! When did you get here? You didn't get a taxi did you? You know you could have called and one of us would have picked you up!" Yoshiko insisted, walking into the hall. The Fuji mother had the kind yet evil smile, the one she passed on to her oldest son.

Yumiko smiled. "Okaasan, your teeth," she pointed out and Yoshiko wiped the slight blood stain, "You wonder why Yuuta doesn't live with us."

Kiyoshi chuckled a little. "It's okay. I took the train. I haven't been in Japan for a while so I liked looking at everything going past."

Yoshiko tutted and clicked her tongue. "We could have picked you up. It would have been faster, even if we took the scenic route."

Yumiko laughed. "Okaasan, you can't drive."

Yoshiko's eyes were still closed as she smiled. They opened even less that Syuusuke's did. "Oh, then Yumiko would have," she grinned, noting the absence of the son that lived in the house. Her smile faded a little with curiousity, "is Syuusuke home? He really should say hello."

Kiyoshi chuckled again. "It's okay. His tennis ball greeted me instead. I would have done the same thing if Ren's, well fiance, did the same as me."

Yoshiko clapped her hands together. "Oh! Wonderful! Now there is more reason to throw a party! We don't get nearly enough opportunities to do so."

Yumiko sighed. Reason never got very far with their mother. She acted as if she had been living for centuries in secret. They all knew that that wasn't true. "Okaasan... it's a Thursday. Some people need to work or go to school tomorrow."

Yoshiko smiled with a face that sent shivers down Kiyoshi's spine. Yumiko was used to it. "It's okay. Either everyone just flew here today or they don't need sleep. It will be fine. I can ask Kenji to write doctors' certificates if anyone needs one."

"Okaasan!" Yumiko protested, "just wait until the weekend. We have to buy food and drinks suitable for _human _guests. As you would know, half of the guests you're planning on inviting don't know the existance of vampires."

Yoshiko smiled. "I'll go to the shops while you and Syuusuke clean up around here. Then you can tell everyone to come tonight. It's still early. I'm surprised practice wasn't on this morning for the regulars. Has Syuusuke gone to school yet?."

There was no chance of winning this battle. Yumiko sighed in defeat. It was the time she needed her father's reason. "Tell me what you need and I'll get it. I can drive the car. It will be faster."

The party wasn't too loud, just the chatter of friends and family. There was music, but otherwise, it was pretty controlled.

Kenji stood with his wife, Saki, and chatted to one of Kiyoshi's sisters while Kenji kept a close eye on Oishi when he could. Oishi was getting better, for which he was glad, but the last thing they wanted was a hungry vampire amongst humans. That would be disasterous.

Eiji and Momo bounced over to Kenji, a bright smile on their faces. "Hi, Oji-kun!" Eiji smiled, Momo's a bit quieter than his, but still quite loud.

Kenji smiled. "Eiji, Momoshiro-kun," he said with the kindest expression.

Momo grinned. "Momo-chan! Call me Momo-chan!"

Kenji raised an eyebrow. "Chan? Doesn't that sound feminine? Especially with 'Momo'. But if that's what you wish, okay. How are you both?"

Eiji smiled. "I'm great, how are you?" he asked, looking around Kenji, "Hello, Saki-san!"

Kenji nodded. "Yes, I'm well."

Saki smiled, her voice like tiny bells. "Hello Eiji-kun," she said with the kindest smile and gentlest face.

Momo smiled at the youngest sibling of Kiyoshi. "Momoshiro Takeshi. I go to school with Fuji Syuusuke. You can call me Momo-chan too, if you want," he introduced.

Eiji put a hand on Momo's shoulder. "Kikumaru Eiji."

Ren smiled. "Morikawa Ren. Please just call me Ren, though," she said, her voice not delicate but at the same time strong. She was confident, but her voice was quiet. Like a living proof that opposites can exists in the same being.

Kenji smiled. "Ren is Kiyoshi's younger sister. She and most of their family lived between America and Argentina. Kiyoshi lives in Japan with us, as you would know," he explained and Ren nodded.

Ren tilted her head in a kind of signal to the small group of people surrounding something in someone's arms. "That's some of them over there. As of today, all... well, I can't keep count but there are more than ten, of us live here. It will be easier as a family to stay together if we're in the same country."

Eiji smiled. "That's right, that's right! I have two older brothers and two older sisters. We all live together with my parents and grandparents. We're all together and when anyone goes away we really miss them."

Ren smiled back. "Exactly. Kiyoshi was living in Japan without us for a few years and as soon as he said he had to come back to Japan, we were coming with him too. Every one of us."

Two arms wrapped around the tiny woman. She was probably only about ten or so centimetres taller than Ryoma, a twelve year old. "Are you talking about how you dragged me here?" the masculine voice asked, his chin on her shoulder. Golden eyes were set on her face in a loving stare.

Ren smiled. "We were. See, Eiji-kun gets it. It's not that hard to understand."

The green haired man smiled. "Why does that name sound familiar?" he looked at Eiji, "you!"

Eiji smiled and pointed at Ryoga. "O'chibi's older brother!"

Ryoga grinned. "Have you seen Chibisuke?"

Momo thought for a moment. "He's probably upstairs with Fuji-senpai. I think everyone else is there too."

Ren folded her arms as she looked at Ryoga. "Is Taiki?"

Ryoga smiled. "Ah, between Mika and Kaasan, he's not going anywhere."

Ren smiled. "Well, go find your brother. I think your mother will go looking for him soon."

Ryoga kissed the top of her head. "Ah, I think that means I have to go. If I don't find his soon, hell will be in this house."

Eiji chuckled and looked at Momo and Kenji. "You're a bit late for that, trust me."

Ryoma sat across from his captain. Everything he thought about vampires was a lie so far. "Buchou-" he reasoned.

"Vampires are now humans with a blood deficiency so we drink blood. We still have... features of our formerselves: enhanced senses – I'm sure you've heard a lot of things you wish you couldn't now you can hear this well – which involves sight and sound a lot, speed and strength. It may sound strange, but you most likely have tried to do something normally and broken whatever it is, like taking a shower for example. We have to hold back because it's clearly not human to run at speeds over 732km/h or hit tennis balls that tunnel fifty metres into the ground," he interrupted with reason. Tezuka folded his arms as he watched Ryoma try and generate some sort of argument.

Loud footsteps ran up the stairs. "Oi, Chibisuke! Are you up here?"

Ryoma frowned at his nickname before a realisation hit him. "Ryoga?" he asked, turning for a doubletake.

Ryoga smiled, his eyes set on his younger brother. "Come downstairs! Kaasan is gonna come looking soon if you don't. Meet your nephew and soon to be sister-in-law."

Ryoma felt his wrists almost yanked away but his body followed. He felt the ground near the bottom of the stairs as his head span. _Damn this vampire thirst... _Ryoma mentally cursed.

Ryoga stood betwwen his mother and fiance. "Chibisuke, this is Ren and in the arms of the devil herself, Taiki."

Ren punched Ryoga's shoulder. "Don't call Rinko the devil. She's your mother."

Ryoga smirked. "Adoptive mother," he retorted matter-of-factly.

Ren hit him harder this time. "It doesn't make a difference."

Ryoma eyed the small baby in his mother's arms. Rinko smiled. "Do you want to hold him?" she asked quietly, prolonging the baby boy's sleep.

Ryoga gasped and feigned a faint. "The devil woman actually offered to release the baby? That's impossible! Not even _I _the baby's _father _gets to take Taiki."

Rinko ignored her adopted son. She knew that technically, she didn't need to adopt Ryoga since he was her step-son – the resemblence between her three favourite males was undeniable – but he deserved a real mother. Nanjiroh's previous woman wasn't much of a mother to the small child at the time.

Ryoma accepted the tiny nephew of his. If he didn't, Rinko would force baby Taiki on him. A scene was the last thing he wanted.

The instant Taiki's golden eyes opened after a yawn, it looked into Ryoma's same coloured eyes. A tiny hand wrapped around Ryoma's finger. It made Ryoma tense but loose at the same time. Completely relaxed but anxious for the baby in his hands. Ryoma reminded himself that babies didn't usually even phase him.

Ryoga smiled, wrapping an arm around Ren. "I told you Chibisuke had a natural defensive thingy for family too. Oyaji did the same thing."

Syuusuke sat on the cold rooftop where he could think alone. He crushed an alluminium can, throwing it with precision at a bin and getting it in.

He wrapped his arms around his legs to reach a device attached to his shoe, disconnecting it and pressing the middle, large, droplet shapped button.

He sighed as he leaned back, the device loosely in his hand. Inaudible footsteps to humans and unexpecting vampires creeped up on him. The wind rattling a set of bells. The quiet yet calming ring echoed in the night.

"Syuusuke, when did you start to need this much blood?" a voice asked, sounding masculine but as beautiful as the bells, untainted by human slang, slurs and pronunciations.

Syuusuke sighed, brushing a hand through his hair. "Otousan, you know that you are a very taciturn person? You act like no one is worth talking to."

Youshirou sat next to his eldest son. "When I was a bit older than you, I told my old man the same thing. Do you know what he told me?" he asked, the bells on his hip gently ringing.

Syuusuke blinked. "Saa, I wasn't born then. So let's see. No."

Tadashi smiled a little. "'I am talknig to you. If I do not talk to people because they are not worthy, does that make you one of the most important people to me?'"

Syuusuke was silent in thought. His father outsmarted him every time. It was just so obvious he didn't think about it.

Tadashi looked at the device again, taken from Syuusuke's hand earlier. "So, answer my question about the blood."

Syuusuke thought for a moment. "It's only been a week or so that it's been this bad. But since I burned my arms, it's gotten worse."

Tadashi furred his eyebrows. "It's not the burn. Kenji told me about it," he smiled, "just spending an hour around humans is already affecting how I talk."

Syuusuke opened his eyes to look at his father. "Stop acting. You can go back to work if you want to. I know you really couldn't care less how much blood I drink or not," Syuusuke frowned.

Tadashi leaned back. "That may be true, Syuusuke," he seemed to admit, Syuusuke actually taken by surprise, "but that is because I know you can handle it. You are my son and I care for you. To put up with this annoying human life, I could not be more proud of you."

Syuusuke closed his eyes, but somehow, his sight was clearer. "Saa, you can smell blood, can't you?" he accused, acting suspicious of his father's mood.

Youshirou nodded. "I live in the darkest place if I am not here. Confinement is really worse than any hell you can imagine. I am in there everyday, killing vampires who cannot even beome human like or be under some sort of control after drinking blood. Those vampires are completely undead. At first, you can still see some humanity left in them, but it is only a body: a shell. A shell to a monster that for the good of the world has to die. You can imagine why no vampire would fight me since I kill untamed and powerful undead vampires everyday," he chuckled, "Just little old me."

He was slightly taller and obviously older than Syuusuke. His shoulders were a bit broader, but not by much, and his body was shaped in perfect angles. Just like his son would be.

"Bloods smell is desireable, yes, but since I am in such close contact with it, I am not affected anymore," Tadashi grinned.

Syuusuke sat in silence for a few moments. "What if you had to kill someone you knew?"

Tadashi's smile faded. It was sincere, unlike the mischevious and evil smile Syuusuke and Yoshiko shared. There was a certain appearance of great wisdom, inner strength and yet, some foolishness in his expression, in his entire stature.

Tadashi sighed. "I guess I would have to remind myself that they are not the same person anymore. It is a tough job. You would have no idea. You create bonds with those there. You really cannot help but be your true self. No one cares about formalities or opinions anymore."

Syuusuke nodded. "I guess I can see why. It's rare anyone gets out. They have to be on good behaviour for a few months. It's almost impossible, right?"

Tadashi nudged his son. "That is right, but brighten up. Setsuko-chan asked about you, you know. She works with Kenji. She helps people with minor injuries or illness now. She is in training. I remember when you, Yuuta, Koujirou, Setsuko and Seiichi all used to play together. I guess Yasuhara began to press down the rivalry between the Fujis and Yukimuras before I did."

Syuusuke smirked. "Setsuko would be in her third year of university now, wouldn't she?"

Tadashi smiled. "Almost. Second year. She does not like University much. She is still stubborn and lives alone in the apartment her godparents left her," Tadashi noted, "why don't you visit her? She misses you."

Syuusuke looked up at the sky. "I might, but we've got school."

Tadashi smiled. "School? Do not worry about it Syuusuke. Your control and emotional wellfare are more important. I will call her to tell her you are coming.

Syuusuke sighed. It was a trick and he had fallen for it. "What ever pleases you."

Ryoma, after escaping the clutches of his family, walked down the path. He was getting used to listening for the moment his parents fell asleep, the moment he heard all movement stop and other signs of sleep. That was when he generally left the house at night.

He took normal sized strides, trying to entertain himself with the child's game where you try and not step on any cracks or lines in the pavement. The hours of extra alertness was beginning to become annoying. He really didn't know what to do with himself. He considered learning another language, since he had at least six extra hours in his day.

Ryoma saw a young adult, perhaps just under twenty, stumble. Her hands hit the ground and papers scattered. She had black hair and was fairly pretty. She had dark eyes and pale skin. Ryoma noticed that she smelt a little odd.

He knelt down to help her collect her papers. He felt bored, so even charity and kindness was better than nothing at this point.

The girl looked up. "Thank you, vampire," she said, a gentle smile on her face.

"How did you know I'm a vampire?" he asked, raising his eyes.

"Saeki Setsuko," she smiled, "I'm friends with the Fuji family. I know all about vampires."

Ryoma suddenly saw it. Her hair wasn't black, it was the same shade as Saeki Koujirou's from Rokkaku. She only looked different because of the night. In entirety, she was so similar to him, he was practically kicking himself for not noticing it.

"Echizen Ryoma," he muttered, "I'm one of the Seigaku regulars."

Setsuko smiled. "You might have noticed, I'm Koujirou's older sister. I grew up with Koujirou, Yumiko, Syuusuke, Yuuta and Seiichi. But I haven't seen Syuusuke in years."

Ryoma nodded. "I see Fuji-senpai everyday. You're not missing much."

Setsuko sighed, her smile fading. "That bad, huh? Koujirou has a worse brother complex that Syuusuke."

Ryoma looked at Setsuko with wide eyes, not understand the sentence. Every word made sense, just not together. "What?"

Setsuko smiled again, but it was brief. "Well, let me explain..."


	8. The Fall

**(A.N: I didn't know what to run by, manga or anime, in appearances, so I ran by anime only because that's constant in colour. Except Kaidoh's bandana. That's always gonna be green to me. **

**Oh, and for those who got confused, I changed Fuji's dad's name to Tadashi, because his mother is already Yoshiko. Yoshiko and Yoshirou would just be confusing.**

**As always, read, review and enjoy!)**

**Chapter Eight – The Fall**

Syuusuke knocked on the door precisely seven times. It was a habit that Setsuko had taught him as a child and it annoyed him so much.

"_Ne, ne! Syuusuke-kun! If you want someone to answer their door faster, you have to knock seven times. It's the only way they'll rush to the door!"_

Setsuko had always played tricks like that, telling him false truths. But he continued to do it, even though it made no difference how many times he knocked.

The door opened and Setsuko had a beguiled smile, her green eyes glistening. Her arms wrapped themselves around Syuusuke, almost tears forming in her eyes.

"I'm so glad you've finally come to see me. I thought Kojirou scared you off forever," she muttered as Syuusuke nervously returned the hug.

"Well, Father tricked me into it,"Syuusuke explained.

Setsuko rolled her eyes as she let go of him. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him inside the small apartment. It was generally clean. Glistening clean. Syuusuke could see the tiny sparkles of light on the counter. Setsuko didn't own much, so it made light work of cleaning.

Setsuko almost skipped into the kitchen. "So, Syuusuke. Have you spoken to Seiichi lately?" she asked inquisitively.

Syuusuke almost hissed. "The experience was rather unpleasant, but yes," Syuusuke replied. He frowned. "Other than completely abusing his power as _prince, _he's much the same. Spoiled and sick."

Setsuko smiled. "Ah, okay. I take it Yasuharu is the same as well then," she noted, talking about Seiichi's father. "I remember when it didn't matter. They were the good old days..."

"You were fourteen. It wasn't long ago, Setsuko," Syuusuke felt the need to add.

Setsuko grinned. "Well, if it weren't for that annoying brother of mine, I would have seen you at least once in almost three years. That and you'd probably be sucking my blood more often."

Syuusuke didn't have to think hard to remember. "It's not my fault you have the reverse of anemia. I was helping you," he noted. "There is blood in the air, isn't there?" Syuusuke quickly added the last comment at the sound of his temper rising and falling in his voice.

Setsuko's grin got wider. "You bet cha," she chuckled, "and you're going to have to put up with it for the next few days."

Syuusuke growled, unable to hold back his thoughts and actions. "Of course, you'd do something like this. You're the only one who would even think to make their house smell like blood so vampires would act irrationally," he frowned, "you're more sadistic than me."

Setsuko frowned. "Wanting to know what you're really thinking and how you really feel about something isn't sadism. It's called _honesty._ You should try it some time. It does good for you," she smiled a little.

Syuusuke sat on a low chair. "Well, how are you managing to live without your heart exploding from too much blood?" he asked. He was naturally curious. He used to drink her extra blood. It had two positives: he kept under control and her heart and veins didn't burst.

Setsuko chuckled. "I donate blood to a blood bank but they won't let me put in much blood, so usually I have to find some other way to get rid of blood. If Kojirou never found out you bit me on a regular basis, I wouldn't have to go to all of this trouble."

Syuusuke crossed his arms and pouted rather uncharacteristically. "Well, sorry if there was blood around like now and I couldn't help but say what I was thinking. Sometimes I wish I could be like my father and not be effected by the presence of blood at all."

Setsuko went into her kitchen, which was across from the chair anyway, and turned on her stove, obviously setting up for them to drink tea. "Well, usually it means that if you don't get effected by blood anymore, you find something else to cover up the _addiction. _Tadashi covers up his with violence, which is great for working in confinement. He's lucky he works there. If Tadashi worked in an office or something, you'd see it as a mess most of the time. Kenji is addicted to caffeine. It's all different and sometimes just covering up thirst can become a nightmare in itself."

Syuusuke grinned. "How would you know, _mutant human?_ You're no vampire."

Setsuko shrugged. "I guess not," she smiled, "But you're no human either."

--

After a few days of being tortured by every thought and feeling being as open as a child's picture book, Syuusuke returned to school even more closed off than before. He was looking forward to the regulars' camp though.

The regulars' camp was a once a year camp where the tennis club regular members would go and train together. Of course, they were all vampires so there was no need to hide their strange urges to bite someone. There was no reason to cover it up. They went to a small chalet like place owned by Inui's grandfather. There were tennis courts and not a human in sight when they went. So, playing at full strength was not only exhilarating but it tested their true control of their power.

But it got dangerous. With those amounts of speed and power, their eyes needed to be open and had to be constantly alert and watching. One ball hit wrong could equal a lot of pain for someone, usually someone _not _playing with them.

On the bus, driven by Ryuuzaki-sensei herself, Eiji was bouncing around, barely able to contain himself. It was, overall, purely exciting. If everyone was not containing their inner excitement, except Oishi's natural complex to worry himself silly every time the camp was even mentioned, there would be smiles and laughter from everyone.

Even Tezuka.

"Oi, Eiji! If you don't sit down this minute, I'll leave you on the side of the road!" Ryuuzaki-sensei barked, Eiji sitting back in his seat with a pout on his face. Oishi smiled a little. He was better for the most part. Everyone was glad. It was no fun missing out on the once-a-year camp. It was half the reason they all attended the same school. The other half was because they weren't the only vampire at the school.

The bus eventually pulled to a stop in a very secluded area. The bus door slid open, each of the regulars bounding out with a spring in everyone's step. Ryoma had no idea what was going on, but the overall mood was contagious.

Ryuuzaki stepped out of her door, rubbing her head. With Eiji constantly trying to start a sing-along, Syuusuke, Momo and Oishi usually were the only ones to participate, she had developed quite the headache. She never stayed. She didn't want to know what kind of damage these young, super-powerful boys could make to a place. But when she returned, it generally seemed in the same wonderful condition.

_Must work through the night to keep it clean, _Ryuuzaki thought, closing the door and walking behind the excited nine boys.

The main hall was extravagant. If they didn't get to stay here for free, it would have cost a fortune. The walls were lined with expensive patterns, made of marble and gold itself. The patterns were behind a thin glass screen, adding light to the patterns.

Tezuka turned to Ryuuzaki. "We'll see you on your return," he said to her, "I'll try not to let them create too much trouble."

Ryuuzaki nodded, said some stuff regarding the fact that it's a privilege to get to go on this 'camp' and they should respect the owners. If she came back and they had wreaked the place, she'd make them rebuild and clean it. With their bare hands of course.

Eiji tugged on Oishi's shirt. "Come on! Let's go play! Let's go play!" he beamed, jumping up and down like a small child, "We can play doubles!"

Oishi patted Eiji to try and make him calm down. "We need to put our bags in our rooms first, Eiji. After that, we should warm up, as I'm expecting it's been a while since any of us had played to our full strength."

Eiji pouted again, taking his bag. "Same rooms, as always, ne, Inui?"

Inui nodded. "Echizen, your room is room fourteen. It's beside Momo's. Everyone's keys are in their doors."

The room scattered, Ryoma being dragged along by Momo. Momo opened Ryoma's room, letting Ryoma walk inside. It was beautiful. Brown walls and furniture that screamed warm and old luxury. It was something Ryoma pictured would be in that Atobe Keigo's house.

Momo grinned. "Yeah, this place has been owned by Inui's relatives for centuries. There is so much money in this place, if we wreck anything other than the tennis courts, we could be paying a fortune. So be careful," Momo pointed out, "You should get changed and I'll take you to the tennis courts."

Ryoma nodded as Momo left, easily finding the cupboards and placing his bag inside of one.

---

The tennis courts were huge. There were six courts, probably so they could have many guests playing in tournaments at once when it was open to the public. Ryoma stood in awe. Around the courts was just trees and the path to get there. You could hear the very faint sounds of waves crashing in the distance.

Eiji was bouncing up and down with excitement. He hadn't stopped bouncing the whole time. "Come and play, Oishi! Doubles!"

Oishi nodded but Tezuka spoke before Oishi could open his mouth. "Momo, Kaidoh. Court one. Oishi and Kikumaru, against Taka-san and Fuji, court two."

The group nodded. Ryoma looked at the four other empty courts. "Buchou, why only two lots of games? We can have three..."

Tezuka looked at Ryoma. To anyone else, it would have made sense. "You'll see."

Momo held his racket tightly in his hands as he stood across court from his rival. His eyes were sharp and pinned exactly on Kaidoh and the tennis ball, not a flicker away to see what was going on in the other game.

Tezuka looked at Inui. "Inui," he merely had to say and Inui went to watch the other, both tall figures watching the games as if something bad would happen if they looked away. There was absolute silence on both courts for several moments.

Momo lifted his hand into the air, throwing the ball up several meters before positioning himself to hit the ball on it's return. He had barely two seconds before he jumped, back arching a little and racket swinging through, his whole body following in tow. The ball flew across court, Ryoma blinking at the speed. He'd seen fast serves before, but this was faster by a long shot.

Kaidoh hit it in return, the ball weaving it's way over to the opposite side of the court slightly faster than the serve. Momo darted to the other side, not even a moment to think through his next shot.

Ryoma's eyes would not... _could not _move away from the power and speed being displayed. The sounds of the racket strings beating at the small tennis ball, feet gracefully skidding from one side of the court to the next and every other movement. It was like he was in a trance.

"Echizen!"

Ryoma felt his body hit the ground, a great force hitting him in his shoulder. The right side of his body throbbed, particularly around the spot he was hit. Both games stopped instantly, Momo and Kaidoh's tennis ball being left to be caught in the gate.

"O'chibi!"

"O-oi! Echizen!"

The entire team surrounded him, all aware that being hit by that tennis ball would have felt like being hit by something much larger. Like a _car._

Ryoma sat up, his head spinning a little from the sudden impact with the ground. He wasn't surprised that his shoulder was pounding. After watching Momo and Kaidoh's match, he really couldn't say he didn't expect it would tickle if he got hit.

Oishi gently put his arm around Ryoma's waist, Fuji helping on the other side, lifting Ryoma to his feet. They had all been hit at some stage or another and it hurt. A lot.

---

Eiji clicked his tongue as he fished out some ice blocks from the freezer and took them over to the bench. He bent back the plastic and the ice blocks fell onto a thin cloth.

He closed the freezer door and hoped that the bottle of water he put in there would freeze soon. They didn't have any ice packs ready, so ice blocks had to do.

Eiji looked at Syuusuke, who was sitting on the wide windowsill with a hand up to his face. "Fujiko... are you alright?" he asked, walking over to Syuusuke, trying to get a better look at him.

Syuusuke remained looking out the window, his eyes red and head pounding.

_**Let me out!**_

Syuusuke cringed, holding onto his head tightly. His eyes were becoming worse and his fangs were beginning to dig into his mouth.

Eiji panicked, a vampire out of control much more important than a tennis related injury. An undead vampire could kill someone. "Uh, Fujiko, calm down. You need blood, right?"

Syuusuke looked at Eiji, his eyes bright red and not a fraction of control to be seen. Eiji's eyes opened, the lust for blood in the air eating at him.

Syuusuke, the undead one at least, stepped forward, his footsteps echoing. "Ei-ji-kun," a sinister voice from Syuusuke's lips said, trying to sound joyful, "come here."

Eiji edged backwards, his heart pounding. He fell back, turning over to get up and bolt out the door. Syuusuke's undead half licked his lips, one hand grabbing onto Eiji's ankle. Eiji cringed as Syuusuke's tight grip pulled him closer, unable to do a thing. Eiji winced and let out a quiet yelp as Syuusuke gripped tighter, a quiet chuckle escaping Syuusuke's lips.

Syuusuke picked up Eiji by his shirt, leaving Eiji dangling in the air. Eiji fought back to try be released. Syuusuke walked with Eiji in the air, acting like it were an effortless task. Eiji felt his back impact with a wall, his eyes becoming wide. Syuusuke bit into Eiji, Eiji feeling pain filling his body. His eyes began to close over. Syuusuke felt Eiji's blood slip further and further down his throat.

Syuusuke's eyes faded back to sapphire, his eyes set on the red hair in front of him. "E-Eiji..." he gasped, his hands letting go of his best friend. Realization set upon him, the sound of Eiji's heart beat faded to nothing.

Syuusuke turned and fled for the open window, running as fast as he could as he heard the commotion approach the door.

_No. No, you haven't got me yet. You can't get me... Eiji... I'm sorry._

_**Ha ha ha ha ha... you think you can get away? You fool. I follow you. Always.**_

_**---  
**_

Ryoma ran along the forest floor. "Fuji-senpai! Fuji-senpai!" he called, looking around for his senior.

Ryoma's eyes set on a figure standing out in a clearing. Ryoma darted over, his body trying to push itself to it's limits to get there in a high speed.

Surely enough, Syuusuke stood, looking at his hands. "Echizen, don't come any closer."

Ryoma stopped. "Fuji-senpai. Eiji-senpai is okay. We're all looking for you."

Syuusuke turned, his eyes dry and bloody tears dripping down his cheeks. "Tell them not to worry about me. I'm not going back."

Ryoma looked at his senpai, stepping forward a few steps. His head was pounding at the smell of blood, obviously still suffering constant thirst from being such a new vampire. He had not touched blood since his... incident with Syuusuke after meeting with Seiichi. "Fuji-senpai, come back."

Syuusuke stood still. "I'm not. I've killed too many people to stay amongst humans. I'm going to actually kill someone beyond the chance of bringing them back that I care about soon and I won't be able to forgive myself," he said, looking into Ryoma's golden eyes.

Ryoma shivered at the sight of his own senpai like this. He was Fuji Syuusuke, the resident tensai at Seigaku and yet, he of all people, could not stand up to the pressures of being a vampire. "Senpai-"

Syuusuke took a few steps forward, placing a hand on Ryoma's shoulder. "I'm sorry," he simply said before turning to walk away.

"Mada mada dane,"

Syuusuke turned to look at the freshman regular, a smirk on his face. "If you give up now, I'm afraid that you're not as good as you seem to be. Mada mada dane, Fuji-senpai," Ryoma said, pulling on his hat.

Syuusuke chuckled. "I'm sorry that I can't live up to your expectations. Saa, maybe I'll see you again. Somewhere. Hopefully not where I'm going," Syuusuke pointed out, turning around again.

Ryoma watched as Syuusuke ran through the trees. It was a few moments and Ryoma knew that Syuusuke would never return. It had begun to rain in that time.

Ryoma took a single step forward, a feeling building up in his chest. He just wanted to scream out in hope that something finally gave in and let everything work out. "FUJI-SENPAI!" he shouted, dropping to his knees. A few bloody tears escaped his eyes at the thought of never seeing his sadistic but at the same time, kind senpai. The one who made him a vampire. The one who was always there when Ryoma thought he was going to collapse from lack of control.

Ryoma stood up, turning on his heel, and walked slowly to the place the others were waiting. He had lied. At the words that Syuusuke had run off, Ryoma expressed that he was going to go look for him, even though the others said they would not. No one else was looking for Syuusuke.

Ryoma raised his eyes a little at the seven figures in front of him on his return. Tezuka was the first to speak. "He's gone?"

Ryoma bit his lip and nodded. Momo slapped his knee and turned around. "Dammit!" he cried.

Tezuka looked at the other remaining regulars. "Is that right? Everyone, return to your rooms and try and rest. We'll start training tomorrow at dawn."

Ryoma stood still as the others left. Eiji stayed, noticing the drops of blood-tears falling slowly from his eyes.

Eiji smiled, wobbling around. He really shouldn't have been on his feet, but he had tried to convince the others he was fine. "O'chibi. When we get back, go see him. This is where he will be. Either that, or speak to his father, Fuji Tadashi. He'll do something about it," Eiji said, handing Ryoma a folded piece of paper, "But don't stay there. It's the worst place on Earth."

Ryoma watched as Eiji walked away, opening the slip of paper.

_Confinement & Medical Clinic_

_455-468 Fourteenth street,_

_Tokyo, Japan._

**(A.N: Okay, that came out bad... I knew what I wanted, but couldn't figure out how to put it. Being sick doesn't help. That's the latest chapter. The next one I know how I want it so it should be MUCH better. Please review!!)**


	9. The Night

**(A.N: Just as normal, read, review and most of all, enjoy.)**

**Chapter Nine – The Night**

_The rain simply poured. There was no other way to describe it. Rain soaked the concrete ground as people tried to find shelter. But there was one who didn't bother. No matter how long he watched this other man, he wouldn't find shelter. The man with light brown hair just stood there, cigarette shielded over just enough to stay alight as the smoke rose in the sky a little. He looked rather formal for someone his age, perhaps nineteen or so, just standing there in a sleeveless top with a long sleeve, thin shirt beneath and black pants, absolutely soaked to the bone._

"_You shouldn't do that. It's not good for you," a voice said, jumping from her seat on a small building's roof. It was only say three floors high, but that was a dangerous feat in itself. People watched in awe as she just stood up straight as if she jumped from three floor flats every day._

_A quiet chuckle came from his lips. "Saa, you have no idea," His voice sounded like ringing bells. It was like heaven, though bitterness laid underneath, well concealed in the depth of the words._

_She smiled. "So it would seem. I've been ordered to take you with me at all costs, so come either quietly or I'll have to drag you there by force," she teased, tapping his shoulder, a mix of stern but playful at once. A very strange combination."Got that?"_

–

_Everything went dark for a few seconds and it came back in one place, somewhere he recognized. Somewhere important. He walked to a mirror to see himself, dark, mangled hair in his eyes and massive bags on his cheeks. His skin was pale, beyond a healthy colour for even the palest people._

_He rearranged his clothes slightly, a black shirt over his grey long sleeves, black bootleg jeans and black fingerless gloves. The clothes would have been perfect if he weren't skin, bone and some muscle. He felt strong all of the time, but his appearance denied it._

_He moved his shoulder length hair from his face, revealing his pale skin and weary eyes, his eyes focused on his head, the absence of a hat seeming strange and unfamiliar. But, for some strange reason, he didn't want to wear it._

_He looked at himself from his toes up until seemingly shallow eyes met veteran gold, hidden from reality and kept from any more hurt. It was like someone else was in the mirror, someone in pain; like they were in agony to live another day._

_His eyes focused in further, like the past was all explained in the depths of the cloudy eyes, the years of hidden tears and misunderstood frustration, the years of loneliness even though he was surrounded by people. The years of inner turmoil practically screaming out of his eyes, hidden by the cool exterior he tried to keep. _

_One hand gently touched the mirror, but the image in the mirror didn't move. It stood like the original body wasn't real. Like he was stupid to try and reach him._

_His other hand reached out, fingertips gently touching the mirror and then it felt like liquid as his hand reached through to the other side. The liquid seeped down his arm, staining his tennis clothes which bared no resemblance to his 'reflection' but somehow, he knew that the person on the other side of the mirror needed help. _

_His eyes stared, trying to show compassion for the other one, the 'reflection' staring at his hand as if it were a foreign object. Slowly, the 'reflection' raised his hand, reaching toward him hesitantly. Slowly, carefully, the reflection's hand touched his, colder than ice and so soft it wasn't human._

_He began to pull his hand back, the reflection slowly following. As his arm came back through the mirror, it was red, covered in blood. It dripped down onto the floor, the original one's eyes turning the same red._

"_Oi! Get the hell out of there!"_

Ryoma woke with a start at the random yelling. His hand rose up to his head, gently supporting it enough that the weird vision would stop. His head was lightly throbbing, most likely because he was in need of more blood. He hadn't had any since the _incident _with Syuusuke. The weird vision cleared and he looked around, the sound of his wind from his window becoming distracting.

_Wind?_

Ryoma got up, looking out of his window. It was closed when he went to sleep and yet it was open now. He didn't sleep walk, his father slept like a brick and Nanako rarely ever stepped foot in his room. It was beyond unlikely that they would have done it.

He brushed off the thought and closed his window, deeming one minute before his alarm a fair enough reason to go to the shower early. He usually struggled to keep his ruse of sleep hidden from his father until his alarm went off. It was all in the acting.

Ryoma went to his cupboard, looking for fresh clothes. A draw inside slid open almost silently, a slip of white paper neatly folded on top of his clothes.

Ryoma instantly knew what it was.

_Confinement & Medical Clinic_

_455 – 468 Fourteenth Street_

_Tokyo, Japan._

He took the slip of paper out of his draw and left it on his the the top of the drawers, grabbing the rest of his clothes from the hangers.

He had already told everyone he wasn't going to make it to school today and each had their own opinion of why. But the regulars knew instantly.

He put his bag over his shoulder, his hat firmly on his head.

"I'm leaving!" he called through the house.

--

Finding the place was easy. It was a rather large white building, labeled with nothingness, just a sign that said the address and a small mail slot that lead into the building.

Ryoma climbed the steps, his eyes filled with something he couldn't recognise. Something absurd. A feeling he could not remember even feeling in the American Junior Tournaments or other public, important events.

Fear.

If this place was like he had heard, he was about to enter hell. The place where vampires like himself died every day and vampires were locked up to eventually be killed also.

He opened the door stepping inside. He looked up, inside pale white and completely clean. Up one end was two walkways, one sealed off by a door, the other a large, open archway. There was a desk in between those, like a reception desk.

"Ah! Ryoma-kun!" a familiar voice exclaimed from the desk and Ryoma looked up.

"Saeki-san," he replied, looking at the woman behind the desk, a smile on her face.

She frowned playfully. "It's Se-tsu-ko. I'm not my brother."

Ryoma walked over, a bit more confident in his stride. If she was here, obviously it wasn't that bad. "I'm here to see Fuji-senpai," he spoke with ease.

Setsuko frowned, this time seriously. "Syuusuke? But he shouldn't be here... I haven't seen him. I'll ask Kenji," she smiled by the end.

Kenji, as if on cue, stood at the archway, a solemn look on his face. "I'll get Tadashi to get him for you," he muttered, Setsuko's eyes widening.

Setsuko looked at Kenji, her whole body filled with shock. "Tadashi? You mean that Syuusuke is in _confinement_?" she asked, "he can't be. He drank blood while he was with me. He shouldn't have been thirsty. It's not-"

Kenji quietly silenced her. "Setsuko, I don't think you should let anyone drink your blood anymore," Kenji suggested, "It seems that your blood was making Syuusuke's thirst _worse._ It's the only explanation why he could have horrible control."

Setsuko was silent from then on. Her eyes were open, leading into her thoughts. She was worried that she was the one who had sent Syuusuke into confinement. She was the one to blame.

She condemned him to death.

"We have to do something!" she suddenly exclaimed, "When we were children, Syuusuke used to drink very little blood, but you know about my reverse anaemia. He was protecting my life and I can't be the reason he's in there!"

Ryoma staggered at the sound of an even more familiar voice. A voice he had avoided at all costs.

"I know how," the other voice whispered.

"Yukimura!"

"Seiichi!"

Seiichi smirked, walking forward. "I heard Syuusuke was in confinement and had to do something about it. It's not right for him to be held there. Then I can't taunt him," he explained, "So I brought this." Seiichi held out a canister filled with blood.

Ryoma looked at Seiichi like he was the biggest idiot on the planet. His eyes set on it and he felt desperation for what Seiichi had in his hands. His own thirst was obviously worse than what he had thought. "That won't work," Ryoma shot back.

Seiichi chuckled. "Oh, but it will. This blood has special properties in it that numbs a vampire's senses, even their sense of blood lust. It's similar to how Setsuko-chan's blood is, but it's effects are almost entirely opposite. The poor girl is pale though. She doesn't suffer from reverse anaemia like you, Setsuko-chan. But even explaining it to her, she still has no idea what she's getting into."

Kenji took the canister, analysing it before giving it back. "You're right, Seiichi. But really, this girl probably has no idea that you're using her blood to save a _vampire's _life."

Seiichi shook his head. "Oh no, she knows. She knows all about vampires. You've met her before, too, Kenji. An-chan was rather co-operative and determined to help vampires, even as I explained the worse side of it. She's very noble. Just like her brother."

Ryoma stared. "Tachibana An?"

Seiichi nodded. "That is correct," he said, handing the canister to Ryoma, "he won't take it from me. So you take it. Maybe you can knock some sense into him. He has until tomorrow, sunset, when he'll be put with the others, absolutely no escape from living in confinement for the rest of his life."

The confinement door opened. "Ryoma-san, Syuusuke is waiting for you. I overheard the whole thing," Tadashi explained, his voice sounding more like bells than the last time he heard it.

Ryoma nodded, walking with Tadashi, Tadashi gently putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. You'll be able to convince him, of all people. I can sense it," he chuckled, "you have a group of people out there who believe in you. Trust them."

Ryoma smirked a little. "Okay."

--

An sat against the wall as she held her head a little. She was still dizzy and a bit pale, but overall, much better than earlier. She held a bottle of water in her hands, gently taking a sip every so often. She considered that perhaps the person she was saving was going to kill her for a split second, but she instantly regretted the thought.

She heard voices coming around the corner, his instant reflex to get up and act like she was about to head out to the tennis courts. It was wear she lived most of the time anyway. She steadied herself against the wall, her head spinning faster now. Her knees felt like jelly and her vision was well beyond blurry.

She held her head, her body falling to the floor in an untidy mess of limbs. She could just hear the light calls of those who had come around the corner.

_Damn it... _she hissed in her mind as she drifted into unconsciousness.

--

Syuusuke was definitely not pleased with his latest circumstances. Who on earth had even the slightest idea of what he could do if he really lost all control. His father, just a little bit stronger looking than he was, killed undead vampires, the strongest of all beings, every day and surely he had taken his father's strength. He knew he had.

The door opened slowly, the sound of an elevated and anticipating heart beat following.

Syuusuke rolled his eyes, expecting Momo or Eiji at the doorway. They'd be the people to visit him in the most case. The others would simply protest that there was no need to go overboard for nothing. He was Fuji Syuusuke after all.

Syuusuke watched as the freshman walked in, a mild surprise evident in his face. "What are you doing here?" he asked, very minimal malice in his voice, more of it surprise, "How do you know where _here _is?"

Ryoma smirked a little. "Eiji-senpai told me," he explained. Syuusuke chuckled a little.

"Figures. Why are you here, Echizen?" Syuusuke replied with a little bit of annoyance in his voice. Everyone was determined to get him out of where he thought he belonged.

Ryoma took the seat that was across from Syuusuke. "To get you out of here, of course," Ryoma commented bluntly.

Syuusuke chuckled again. "Saa, how do you expect to manage that, Echizen-kun? I'm curious."

Ryoma held out the canister, Syuusuke's eyes drifting towards it. "Yukimura gave me this to give you,"

Syuusuke looked at it once. "Whose blood is it?"

"Tachibana An,"

"I'm not taking it," Syuusuke replied sharply.

Ryoma looked at the determination in his senpai's eyes. "An gave up her blood by her own will, Fuji-senpai. Yukimura said something about it numbs senses, even blood lust."

Syuusuke frowned, his eyes opening to look at Ryoma with a cold stare. "I'm not taking one of my friend's sister's blood again. It screwed me up last time, it will do it again this time. This time, we may not get off easily."

Ryoma looked at Syuusuke, his eyes just as sharp as the horrible sapphire across from him. "This isn't Saeki, Fuji-senpai."

Syuusuke frowned, his voice rising a little. "Which is why is more dangerous to drink An's blood. Tachibana has no idea that we're vampires and would surely disapprove of all of us."

Ryoma sighed, not used to loosing a fight. His father was easy to beat. Just threaten his magazines. Momo would cave at any mention of food. His mother would let him do anything as long as he kept his grades up. But Fuji Syuusuke was another story.

A certain idea came to mind. If it worked for Seiichi and Tezuka, surely it would work for him.

"Fuji-senpai, you're afraid, aren't you?"

Ah, shooting another man's pride. How it can make the strongest of men begin to doubt themselves. If anyone shot at Atobe's pride, Atobe would probably be crying like a small child. It was annoying and amazing the size of the ego that boy had.

Back to the topic, Syuusuke sat still in his chair, his sapphire eyes wide open as thought was etched in his face.

"Yes."

Ryoma blinked in surprise. Had Fuji Syuusuke stooped so low that his pride was non-existent? Had being a vampire really made him so weak as to admit fear itself? The thought was ridiculous. Outrageous. Ryoma would have to see that his senpai would not think that he were nothing more than a mere human who works with a below-average family and has a below-average job.

Ryoma honestly, probably with the help that he refused to admit he was blood thirsty himself and therefore had not drank any blood since he was with Syuusuke and the _incident_ happened, was outraged and it was more than apparent on his face.

"Fuji-senpai! Why do you blame yourself? You're not _dying. _You can still come to school and play tennis. You can still do everything. If you need blood, every regular would put up their hand to have you stay with us. Why the _hell _are you so afraid of being with amongst humans?" Ryoma shouted, his eyes flaring between red and gold.

"Because I'll kill you,"

Ryoma looked up, calming down suddenly. If anything, it was shock that sent him back to earth. Back to normal.

"But, you'd never do that," Ryoma protested, "You've never hurt any of the regu-"

"Eiji laid lifeless at my feet as his blood covered my hands and fangs. You can't say I have never hurt any of the regulars. He was dead in my hands. How am I meant to live with that lingering over my head, Echizen?" Syuusuke asked. He was naturally curious to how Ryoma would react. Ryoma was fairly unpredictable.

Ryoma was slightly confused himself. He surely couldn't have come back from attacking anyone, hence his uncomfortable nature around biting others, but if it had to be, then so be it. If he _killed _someone, Ryoma probably would have locked himself up in his grandmother's basement to rott away into a lifeless corpse. The only problem was, he'd have to live with himself long enough to get to America and explain the whole thing to his grandmother. The stubborn but selfless old woman would not be pleased at all.

Ryoma woke from his thoughts. It happened more and more lately. He'd start with thinking something to try and respond then end up somewhere different, the other person with absolutely no idea what he was thinking and still waiting for an answer.

Ryoma felt the need to drop his pride for merely a second. "I don't know, Fuji-senpai," he replied, "but I wouldn't give up. I wouldn't be _allowed _to give up."

Syuusuke chuckled at the thought of Ryoma being bossed around. Ryoma was a stubborn guy himself, so giving up would be a hard task essentially for him. "I guess so," Syuusuke noted, "I can't picture you giving up though."

Ryoma let out a small chuckle at the thought of giving up. "Probably not likely."

"Ryoma," Syuusuke said, testing the sound of Ryoma's given name from his lips. It felt familiar and proper, rather than always referring to Ryoma by his surname.

Ryoma looked up, his golden eyes set on Syuusuke. His name had been quiet, but he heard it. "What is it, Fuji-senpai?" Ryoma refused to admit that he liked being called Ryoma rather than Echizen. Echizen reminded him of the seniors in the sport teams who simply called people by their surname because that's what you're called by in the world of sport. It was almost like they were taunting him because he wasn't American like the others. They'd stretch out his name and pronounce it wrong, creating a lot of irritation for Ryoma. Even the teachers had no idea how to pronounce his name right. Was it that hard to say Echizen Ryoma the right way? It couldn't be that difficult.

Syuusuke tapped Ryoma on the head. "Saa, you're day dreaming a lot lately, Ryoma. Are you sure you're okay?"

Ryoma nodded. "That's right, isn't it?" Ryoma replied, actually completely unaware of what his senpai had just said.

Syuusuke chuckled again. "You've come in here to persuade me out but instead you've spent more time day dreaming than talking. Is this some new theory that a doctor came up with?" Syuusuke asked, joking around slightly. He missed being outside with the regulars. He couldn't taunt them and laugh. But the worst of all had hit him hard.

He couldn't smile.

He had a reason to smile outside. To keep his friends away from his inner turmoil, to distract himself from what lay within. To live at least somewhat normally. But he couldn't do that here.

He hadn't even entered the full confinement. No, he'd be there tomorrow. Already, he could feel the depths of hell reaching up and pulling him under. No blood, no friends, nothingness. As soon as he went through those doors tomorrow, he would be given to the beasts, with a choice to fight to live, or die.

Ryoma looked at Syuusuke. "What will it take for you to come back to Seigaku, Fuji-senpai?"

Syuusuke folded his arms, trying to think. His eyes were closed as his forehead creased just a little. He honestly had no idea what he was looking for in coming here. Security that he wouldn't kill his friends? He could get that by moving away. Perhaps for the others to recognise that he was not as controlled as they thought he was, but they all knew the amount of people he killed.

Syuusuke slowly opened his eyes. "I think I already have it," he muttered quietly.

Ryoma raised an eyebrow in slight confusion. "What is it?"

Syuusuke chuckled a little. "Someone to tell me just how stupid I am being. I'm really not that much of a genius after all," Syuusuke chuckled and somehow, Ryoma began laughing quietly too. It was something about being together that made Ryoma so sure that he could get Syuusuke out, as Syuusuke felt that Ryoma would manage to get his way through everything.

Ryoma adjusted his hat. "So you'll come back?"

Syuusuke was still unsure, but he believed Ryoma when Ryoma said that he wouldn't give up. Syuusuke would have to do the same. If a newborn could control himself, surely he, someone who had been a vampire all of his life, could manage his thirst somehow.

Ryoma gently threw the canister. "For if you need it, Fuji-senpai."

"Syu-u-suke, Ryoma," Syuusuke said, "if I call you Ryoma, then you call me Syuusuke."

Ryoma chuckled. "Syuusuke-senpai."

Syuusuke shook his head. "Close enough, Ryoma-_kun_," Syuusuke teased back.

Ryoma frowned. "Fuji-senpai!"

Syuusuke patted Ryoma's head. "Syuusuke, Ryoma. Syuusuke."

–

Tachibana An stood on the edge of the pathway. The cars beneath seemed to just drive along without a worry in the world. It almost was intoxicating. The thought of being carefree was like music to her ears. It was dark now and she wasn't pale anymore. Her brother had sent her to her room to rest as soon as he found out she had fainted. She, luckily, knew how to get out of her room without her brother noticing.

"Hey, what's a cute girl like you doing out alone?" a tall man asked, covered in black cloaks as he walked closer to An. An turned around, his pale skin and voice echoing in her ears.

An placed her hands on the railing. "Don't come any closer."

The man smirked. "Don't worry, it won't hurt for long."

An wanted to scream, but for some reason she doubted it would hurt much. She had been bitten before and had gotten many tennis injuries. Now, pain was anything except painful as it should be. It was almost something disgusting, so she didn't tell her older brother. Or the fact she knew vampires existed. She didn't tell him a lot of what happened to her.

An held onto the ledge of the pathway as she prepared to be attacked. But instead, she was embraced by a rather familiar figure. "An-chan, don't walk around on your own at night," Momo's voice said as he let go, "You might actually get attacked next time. You're lucky I was here."

An sighed as she scuffed her feet. "Thanks, Momo."

Momo folded his arms. "You sound ungrateful. You _wanted _to be bitten?" An remained silent for a few moments, her eyes distracted as she put a hand over the place she had been previously bitten.

An looked at him again after some silence. "Why didn't I become a vampire when I was bitten, Momo?"

Momo looked at An curiously. "You want to be bitten and become a vampire? You have no idea what you're getting into, An. Just getting bitten won't get make a vampire. It can't make you a vampire."

An sighed again. "Just don't tell Kippei. He'll murder me and Akaya. Akaya is Yukimura's pet and I don't think Kippei would stand a chance against the _prince._"

Momo took An's hand and began to drag her away. "He explained, huh? Well, Akaya is special I guess. He's the only one of us who decided to go to Rikkai Dai with Yukimura and ever since, he's been Yukimura's favourite. Most of us came to Seigaku, but there are a few of us scattered."

An looked at Momo. "Make me a vampire too."

Momo crossed his arms in the air to make a big 'X'. "No way!" Momo shouted.

An smirked. "Then bite me," An retorted.

Momo kept his arms crossed and shook his head. "No!"

An felt very victorious. "It's one or the other. If you don't do one then I'll stand here until you do," An teased.

Momo turned on his heel and began to walk off jokingly, but An didn't know that. "Then see you, An-chan."

An gaped. "You're going to leave a twelve year old girl out in the middle of the night defenseless so she'll get attacked by murderers, rapists... vampires," she said, purposely saying 'vampires' last.

Momo turned around a walked back before taking An by the waist and lifting her over his shoulder. "There. I'm taking you to your brother."

An began smacking her fists on Momo's back and kicking in the air. "Momo! Put me down! Let go of me!"

Momo smiled triumphantly. "You're safe from murderers, rapists and vampires up there. Besides, my little sister throws better fits on my shoulder than you," he chuckled, "But then again, she's a vampire too."

An sighed as she brushed a hand through her hair and hung over his shoulder. Momo was glad that An was about half the size of him, probably a bit more, but it still made her easy to carry. If she was as tall as he was, then he wouldn't have managed this.

An turned her head. "Momo, why won't you make me a vampire?" An asked curiously.

Momo sighed. "Because you're meant to be human."

"So are you!" An cried.

Momo looked at An - or rather tried and got an eyeful of her backside instead – bad mistake – then turned his head back. "But my father is a vampire. He could watch over me. You only have your brother who has no idea about vampires. How do you think he'll react to his vampire sister?"

An nodded. "I guess. But that doesn't mean you can't bite me."

Momo sighed in frustration. "That's _exactly_ why I can't bite you."

An smirked. "So if I do get bitten then I'll turn into a vampire," An commented.

Momo was tempted to hit her. How she annoyed him to wits end. "No, you won't. But if he sees a vampire bite, then he'll become suspicious and then he'll become _more _protective of you. He has an older brother complex almost as bad as Fuji-senpai."

An gently maneuvered to slip out of his arms and did so safely. "But Yukimura said-"

Momo growled. "Enough! I don't care. I will not make you a vampire or bite you, got it,_ Tachibana-imouto_?"

An grabbed his arm and bit it, drawing some of Momo's blood. Momo didn't notice though. Cursed vampire reactions. He blamed his bad luck that vampires enjoyed being bitten almost as much as biting someone else.

Momo pulled An from his shoulder, his teeth digging into her neck without a rational thought. An gripped onto Momo's shoulders, the slightest bit of reason letting him hold back from hurting her. Momo bit in a little further, An's eyes widening as her head was pushed to the furthest side it could reach. An moaned a little, her eyes closing over some more.

Momo realized what he was doing and pulled away, licking his own skin like a cat would to clean it's fur to make the small bite on his arm heal faster and ignore the temptation to bite her again. An was smiling as she looked at Momo, a look that only screamed that she had felt something similar. "Was that so hard?"

Momo really wanted to hurt her, but he was getting the feeling tennis and vampire attacks had made her a masochist as it did to half the tennis world. Pain meant nothing. He tasted blood on his arm, but it was definitely his own. "An, did you drink any of my blood?"

An raised an eyebrow. "I didn't drink any. I just cut into you because I know about the hatred/desire stuff and I knew it would make you bite me."

Momo frowned. "Idiot!" He said, almost pulling out his hair in frustration, "If you did drink any of the blood, that would be horrible!"

An sighed. "Oh well. I'm not going to die, am I?"

Momo grabbed An and threw her over his shoulder and held her down as tight as he could. "It _could _kill you! You're an idiot, An!"

An smiled just a little. "Don't worry, Momo? See these," she said pointing to her fangs that he had never noticed before, "I'm already probably part vampire. Normal people don't have teeth like these."

Momo frowned. "I'm taking you home and that's it. Try any funny stuff and I'll leave you on the side walk."

An sighed. "Fine," she fumed.

The next few minutes were silent as the sounds of a storm began to come through. An didn't live too far away from Momo. Momo knocked on the front door of the small house and still held An over his shoulder. "Aren't you going to put me down?" An asked.

Momo shook his head. "I won't put you down until your brother opens the door."

The door opened and a rather confused Kippei looked outside. "Momoshiro? What brings you here this late?"

Momo pulled An from his shoulder and put her in her brother's arms. "I'd keep that crazy sister of yours on a leash."

An pouted. "Like that'd ever happen."

Momo scowled. "I'll buy a chain and connect you to something or someone rational," Momo commented, "I'm going now. Just watch her and don't let her out of your sight or she'll get in more trouble and I most likely won't be there to save her next time."

Kippei looked at his sister as if he was just handed his own surprise child from a random woman that he never knew was born. "Wait, what? An-"

Momo smiled just a little, his teeth baring a little. Kippei caught it though, and saw some blood. Not only blood, but fangs. "Ja, ne?"

Kippei nodded as he saw the blood staining his sister's shoulder. "Mm. Until the next tournament."

Kippei put down An, closed the door and looked at his blonde sister. "What did he do to you?"

An crossed her arms and pouted. "Nothing bad. He saved me from being attacked so I wasn't touched and then carried me home even when I told him that I could walk."

Kippei pointed to his sister's shoulder. "Then what's that?"

An put a hand there and felt the blood. _Crap. _"Uh, there were some low branches and one got me."

Kippei sighed. "Go to sleep, An. We have to go to school tomorrow."

An gently kissed her older brother good night. "Night, Kippei-oniichan."

Kippei watched his sister skip up the stairs. "Good night, An."

–

**A.N: Ahh, how I'm glad I finally got that bit up. I actually wrote out the Momo and An bit for chapter five, but that had to wait cause it better suited later. So I fixed it up and wa la!**

**This really took an unnecessary amount of time, considering I got distracted every two paragraphs, so this could have been up last week -sweat drops-**

**Oh well. Just as usual, review please!!**

**Asami-chan**


	10. The Sky

**(A.N: After I finally motivated myself to finish typing up this chapter, I feel kinda good. My mother's (now officially broken) laptop deleted seven pages of this chapter, so I had to do it again. I'm sorry it's so late, I was just lacking motivation to do it again.**

**The next chapter will definitely not be up before the seventeenth for January, since I'm going away on holidays! Yay! Then the Aus Open is in Melbourne, as always, Yay! The 19th to the 1st of Feb, don't forget. It's tennis after all!**

**Back on topic, I'm hoping to write the next chapter all on paper while I'm away and type it up as soon as I get back. Oh, and spoilers if you haven't read the manga or seen up to some of the latest OVAs.**

**Now, sit back, read, review and enjoy!)**

**Chapter Ten – The Sky**

Ryoma groaned a little, Eiji making himself uncomfortably close again. "I know you could do it, O'chibi!" Eiji cried, incredibly loudly, "You brought Fuji back!"

Ryoma tried to push Eiji off, meanwhile clasping onto his ringing ear. "Eiji-senpai!"

Oishi pulled his doubles partner off of the freshman. "Eiji, calm down. We're all excited that Fuji's back, but that's no reason to send Echizen deaf," Oishi scolded lightly.

Ryoma nodded. "That's right!"

Syuusuke smiled as he held his tennis racket, feeling slightly odd considering he hadn't held it in at least a week. He could only imagine how the week of sitting in a cell had affected his tennis, and most of it were negatives.

"You were talking about me?" Syuusuke commented before he was pounced on by the overly happy red-head.

"I'm just so glad you're back, nya~!" Eiji cried, Ryoma's ear beginning to ring again. He cringed a little, pressing one finger against his ear as the ringing progressed to throbbing in his head, accompanied by the annoying buzzing sound.

Syuusuke put a hand on Ryoma's shoulder, noticing Ryoma's expression. "Ryoma?"

Ryoma's expression suddenly became blank. "What?"

Syuusuke smiled just a little. "It's nothing. Don't worry," Syuusuke said, but it was clear he was lying.

Ryoma sighed, adjusting his hat as he walked off a slight murmur of 'water' coming from his general direction. It was like that first day as a vampire again, except he knew why his head was throbbing this time. He had enough smarts to purposely get up late and take his breakfast with him on his way to school, actually throwing it out rather than eating it. He'd actually done that two mornings in a row after his latest discovery of thirst, and he didn't even bother with his lunch. Dinner, he'd skip out on cause he'd say he ate too many burgers with Momo, which was yet another lie. He hadn't even gone out with Momo the last few nights, he just hung around tennis courts.

Ryoma let the water splash him in the face, the cool water washing away the light amount of sweat from the morning laps. He removed his hat to let the water get into his dark green hair, water dribbling down the back of his neck. It felt nice as it ran down his back combined with the air that managed to get into his top.

Ryoma felt the water spray in his face, the gentleness gone as he was covered from head to toe in water. "Oi! There are showers to soak yourself. Save the drink taps for those who are thirsty!" Momo joked, a smile on his face.

Ryoma looked up from under his dripping hair, something about Momo's smile seeming off. It was almost fake. Like he was hiding something. "What is it, Momo-senpai?" Ryoma almost hissed, displeased with his recent soaking.

Momo's plastered smile remained. "If you're late back to practice, Tezuka-buchou will make you do laps again."

Ryoma sighed, walking away from the taps as he tried to get as much of the sun onto his clothes. He did not like being soaked. Particularly in his tennis clothes. It brought up too many memories of his father and the hose in America. Every time he'd set out for school in summer, he'd be covered in water from head to toe and therefore have to get changed again.

_Stupid old man, _Ryoma cursed in English, Momo waving his hand in front of Ryoma's face.

"Oooi! Gaki! Wake up!" Momo teased, Ryoma waking from his latest internal distraction.

Ryoma shot a dark glare and proceeded to the tennis courts. He really lacked the patience to deal with his seniors today, yet alone the annoying freshman he spent half of his classes with. Now he thought about it, all of his classes had at least one of his fan boys or girls in it, as he had begun to refer to them as. They followed him almost everywhere if they could. He really wouldn't be surprised if one of them sneaked in his room and set up video and audio devices.

Ryoma was lost in thought again and he knew it. He felt an elbow gently prod him. "You're day dreaming again, Ryoma. You really should try and stay at least alert during the day," Syuusuke smiled, "Or at least do it when you're pretending to sleep."

Ryoma looked at his senpai again, the smile almost teasing him. "What is with you senpai today?" Ryoma felt like yelling, but he muttered it instead. It was fair enough that he didn't need his own voice bursting his eardrums.

Syuusuke opened his eyes, analysing the freshman's expression. "What do you mean, Ryoma?" Syuusuke asked.

Ryoma looked in the general direction of Momo who was ignoring Kaidoh's insults. "Momo-senpai is really weird today. He was smiling earlier, but it was entirely fake. You keep popping up wherever I am and I keep daydreaming. It's like everything has gone haywire and I don't like it. See? I'm even talking too much!"

"When did you last drink blood?"

Ryoma thought for a moment. "When I ki-" Ryoma went silent, thinking about all the people who could hear him. His integrity needed to remain somewhat in tact.

Syuusuke smirked. "Ah. I remember. You really haven't had _anything _since then?"

Ryoma nodded as Syuusuke looked in amazement. "I haven't," Ryoma confirmed.

Syuusuke folded his arms. "Then you'll need some in hope you don't become... well, like me," Syuusuke said, rather calmly, "so I'll meet you outside your house as soon as your family falls asleep?"

Ryoma was confused. "What?"

Syuusuke smiled deviously. "Meet me outside your house as soon as your family falls asleep," he said, putting emphasis on every syllable of every word, "we'll go hunting."

Ryoma was instantly alarmed as Syuusuke chuckled. "H-hunting?"

Syuusuke shrugged. "Yeah. Through my dad's stuff. Is that a problem, Ryoma?" Syuusuke teased, well aware of what Ryoma was thinking. "We could just go hunting for fresh blood, if you want."

Ryoma shook his head. "Your dad's stuff is fine," he quickly spat out, _I don't think my conscience would cope with murder._

Syuusuke patted Ryoma's head, still damp from Momo and the drink tap, walking off as smoothly as ever. No one could have picked that the tensai had tried to lock himself up merely a week or so ago. He still walked like he was floating and every movement perfectly elongated like he was almost dancing. Not a single movement looked hideous, or even just normal. Everything was beautiful. It was hard not to be entranced by his wicked smile but gorgeous face.

Ryoma tugged on his cap. This was going to be a long day.

--

"Momoshiro."

Momo turned his head, looking at his captain. If he had any sense, it would be to run as fast as he could. He knew that Tachibana Kippei would not sit by and watch his sister being hurt and acting irresponsibly. Kippei had more sense than to ignore the fact Momo was generally around at the time. So when Kippei had gone to speak to Tezuka a bit before morning practice, Momo knew exactly what was going to happen and it definitely wasn't pretty.

The stern captain looked at Momo, a small amount of fear in Momo's eyes. Momo certainly wasn't as stupid as Kaidoh made him out to be. He knew exactly when things had gone wrong.

"H-hai, Tezuka-buchou?"

Tezuka folded his arms, his eyes burying deep into Momo, a slight shiver running down the trickster's back. He was so used to protecting those around him that the need of protection himself seemed ironic. Since when had he become such a coward? He couldn't face up to his own crime, though he'd take the blame for others. It was weird that way.

Tezuka merely moved his head, the littlest sign Momo needed to know that he was indeed in trouble. 'In trouble' barely even covered it. He'd be surprised if he was allowed to show his face near the Seigaku tennis club again. Tezuka was fairly strict with try to keep their secret just that: a secret.

Momo followed diligently, each step making him tremble just a little more. One boy had previously gone to the school back when Tezuka was freshman and Yamato was captain. Therefore, Yamato was in charge of the vampires in the school for that time. The young vampire who had joined the school told someone that he was a vampire. The girl he told was telling the other regulars and of course, they knew. The regulars had always been primarily vampires – Seigaku was the biggest vampire-accommodating school in Tokyo, after all. To save her from revealing them to the world, she had to be stopped and the cause dealt with. That boy was never seen again. That girl was never to breathe a word. That girl was never to _breathe_.

Tezuka stepped inside the club room, making Momo walk in further so he could lock the door. They didn't need any bystanders to hear this conversation. Not even the vampire ones.

"What made you think it was a good idea to bite Tachibana An?" Tezuka asked after a few moments of silence.

Momo looked up. "It was never a good idea. You should know An. She's stubborn and knows exactly how to get her way," Momo protested, "and besides, she bit me first!"

Tezuka's eyes were harsh. "That's no excuse!"

Momo cringed, moving back. An angered Tezuka was not a pleasant sight, yet alone to deal with. The door began to rattle as voices came from outside.

"O-oi. The door is locked."

"Go look for either Tezuka-buchou or Oishi-fukubuchou."

Tezuka leaned on the door, determined to keep that door shut. "Momoshiro, you're not to see Tachibana An. I don't care if she's dying. You are not to touch her. Understand?" Tezuka ordered, "You're lucky Tachibana has sworn to secrecy but only if we keep our half of the deal. Otherwise you'd be out of this tennis club faster than Inui's waterfall shot."

Momo looked at Tezuka like he was crazy. "Keep away from her? What do you expect me to do? I can't just stand by and let her get herself into danger! I won't do it! I can't do it!"

Tezuka remained to look calm, though anger was fierce in his eyes. "Momoshiro, you are to stay away. If she continues to put herself in harms way, I'm sure someone will see to it that she stops, probably by death."

Momo was furious. He was being told to stand by and watch her die. "I'm not going to do it. Tell Tachibana to tell the world but I won't let An die because I'm not allowed to be with her."

Tezuka stepped forward, his eyes set straight into the second year's. "Momoshiro, you explain that to Tachibana. The deal is that he stays quiet as long as you stay away from his sister. He doesn't want her to bitten again, which is a fair enough call. You're lucky at that."

Keys rattled. "I wonder why it's locked," Oishi's voice echoed before Tezuka slammed a fist on the door, all noise stopping from outside. "It seems Tezuka is talking to someone. I'll get you as soon as the door opens," Oishi said, a slight tremble in his voice. He obviously picked up on the fact Tezuka was not in a good mood.

Momo sat down on one of the benches. "It's ridiculous. Does Tachibana realise the danger his little sister is putting _me _in? You have no idea how many times she's almost been attacked and I've had to save her."

Tezuka folded his arms. "Then get Tachibana to attach her to a leash. Anything to keep you away from Tachibana An."

Momo was certainly annoyed, but he knew that the stoic buchou was right. There was no way that he could keep hanging around An without risking discovery. "Well, that's what I said!" Momo finally retorted, "I'll stay away from An as long as she's not in trouble. Got it?" Momo stormed out of the room, Tezuka standing inside as he watched Momo stamp off in a huge fuss.

Tezuka shook his head. Seiichi was right. He was becoming too lax.

--

Ryoma sat on his bed, waiting until any signs of his father awake disappeared. Nanako went to bed hours ago. She knew that there was no point in waiting for the two men to go to bed. She'd be up until three, some nights at least.

The final movements stopped and Ryoma crawled out of his bed, trying to imitate Seiichi's silent movements from a few weeks ago now. How Seiichi managed to stay so silent was a wonder. Probably a lot of practice too, but that was more alarming. How many houses had he randomly broken into and taken innocent vampires out?

Ryoma sat on his windowsill, trying to prop himself up on his feet without touching his noisy floor. The windowsill was damp from the cool air as Ryoma slid, his feet falling out of the window as he grasped onto the windowsill, falling to his arms' length. He gripped as tightly as he could, cursing his stupidity to think that his tiny windowsill would have enough space for him to stand up and launch off.

"Need some help?"

Ryoma looked down, Syuusuke standing with his signature smile on his face. Ryoma looked up at his hands that were slipping. "No, I'm fine, Fuji-senpai."

"Syuusuke, Ryoma. Syu-u-suke. Remember? We agreed," Syuusuke corrected, folding his arms patiently, "saa, any time you'd like to get down would be good. Otousan usually doesn't appreciate me going through his stocks. Everyone does it anyway. He's never home to tell us off."

Ryoma sighed, letting go of the windowsill, trusting his fate that he'd land properly and not on some tool his father had left around. He bent his knees on his landing, something he knew from just tennis. He silently congratulated himself for actually landing that properly – the last time he did that he hurt his ankle cause he landed strangely.

Ryoma got up, turning around to look at Syuusuke, his smile unchanged. "Let's go," Ryoma simply muttered, treading his way through the garden and out to the front gate. Syuusuke followed almost silently, Ryoma tempted to check that he was still behind him but Ryoma knew that he would be.

Or so he thought.

Ryoma gently shuffled through his pockets, trying to find the spare key to the gate. It was a habit from America. They were targets of getting anything in the front yard stolen, most likely those seniors from Ryoma's school who hated him for beating them numerous times, so they locked the gate at night. He pulled out the key, opening the gate slowly to try and stop it from making too much noise.

"Just be careful with the gate, Fuji-senpai," Ryoma warned, turning around for merely a second not even long enough to catch a glimpse of Syuusuke.

"What was that, Ryoma? You were facing the wrong way," Syuusuke asked from _in front _of Ryoma, his face uncomfortably close to Ryoma's as Ryoma turned around. Ryoma jumped in fright, Syuusuke with closed eyes standing in front of him with that creepy smile.

"Fuji-senpai!"

"Syu-u-suke, Ryoma," Syuusuke corrected as he chuckled just a little, the freshman completely caught of guard.

Ryoma sighed. "Che."

Ryoma was mostly silent for the trip to the Fuji household. He really only made a few one word answers to Syuusuke's light conversation. Syuusuke was still smiling, which was just becoming an annoying trait of his. Ryoma was struggling to see what Syuusuke was planning. It wasn't everyday that Syuusuke invited Ryoma to his house.

As the previous time Ryoma had been there, the Fuji house was magnificent. It looked untouched by the outside world – hours of free time assisted in that – not even the weather proving enough to ruin the beauty.

Ryoma waited as Syuusuke opened the front door, the traditional 'I'm home' call receiving two replies.

"'Kaasan, Neesan. Ryoma is here as well," Syuusuke said, removing his shoes. Ryoma followed suit. The house was certainly quieter than the last time he had been there – the last time it was a party that his older brother and mother who still lived in _America _randomly appeared at – and everything was in perfect order. Not a single speck of dust out of place, if there was any in the house.

"Good evening, Echizen-kun," Yoshiko's kind voice greeted from the kitchen, "Yuuta was complaining about lunch at St. Rudolph's so I'm making up some bentos he only has to heat up."

"Don't put any blood in it!" Yumiko cried from upstairs.

Syuusuke smiled. "We're just going to look in Otousan's study for a minute," Syuusuke explained, gently weaving his fingers in Ryoma's hand to lead him to his father's study. They were still in the hall, unseen by either female, but Ryoma had this odd feeling that he was being watched. Holding Ryoma's hand was entirely unnecessary on Syuusuke's part, but Ryoma didn't seem to object. Syuusuke wouldn't have listened anyway.

"One of _those,_ huh?" Yoshiko commented, "Well, I hope you find something good. The last time I checked, anything half decent was gone. I don't see what's wrong with the old-fashioned hunting. It's better than the things humans do to themselves. At least we're not killing ourselves." Yoshiko instantly received two protests from her children present.

"There's a former human in the house, 'Kaasan," Syuusuke reminded her, "I wouldn't kill humans if I were him either. Now, if _I _were a human and became a vampire, that's a different story."

Ryoma wasn't sure if he wanted to listen anymore. He could see Yoshiko's point, but he still couldn't do it. Instead, he tried to focus on the features of the walls, a few paintings here or there and a lot of photographs. He guessed one girl was Yumiko, perhaps ten or eleven, holding a baby in her arms, Yuuta probably, and a toddler, most likely Syuusuke, standing beside her.

Syuusuke pulled Ryoma inside a stairwell. It lead downstairs to what Ryoma guessed was Tadashi's study. Syuusuke closed the door as the lights turned on, although the gentle light from small tōrō, a traditional Japanese stone lantern used to decorate shrines and Japanese gardens, sitting outside the window gave them enough light to see to the bottom of the staircase.

Ryoma walked down the stairs silently, his hand still in the tensai's gentle fingers. When they reached the bottom, Syuusuke pointed to a chair, ushering for Ryoma to sit. Syuusuke began to rummage through shelves, each perfectly categorised and easy to follow. The shelf Syuusuke was searching was filled with aluminium cans. It honestly would have been well hidden, considering that Ryoma could see the charts and everything from where he was.

"Saa, I can only hope to be this organised when I take over," Syuusuke muttered, still shifting through labelled cans, "every document relevant to the world's history is in this room. There are even copies of Elizabeth Wilkinson's journals from over twelve thousand years ago. The early ones are translated from Greek to Chinese though, so it's hard to read. She's one of the vampires who _will _live forever unless deliberately killed with the gun that my dad keeps in his drawer: the immortals. Otousan has everything. His books write themselves, this very moment probably being written into one right now."

Ryoma looked up in mild interest, but the vast majority of that speech just fell on deaf ears. "When you take over?" he asked.

Syuusuke smiled. "Of course," Syuusuke said as if it was plainly obvious, "Confinement is considered a family business, almost. Before my father was the warden, his father was and so on and so forth. This house is actually quite old. We just renovate a lot since we have a lot of spare time."

Syuusuke smiled as he picked up a book from the bottom shelf. It looked brand new. He threw it at Ryoma. "Read the last few pages of that while I find this thing. It will be interesting," Syuusuke said.

Ryoma opened it, the vast majority of the pages actually blank. He found the latest chapter, titled '_Study' _and began to read.

_Ryoma walked down the stairs silently, his hand still in the tensai's gentle fingers. When they reached the bottom, Syuusuke pointed to a chair, ushering for Ryoma to sit. Syuusuke began to rummage through shelves, each perfectly categorised and easy to follow. The shelf Syuusuke was searching was filled with aluminium cans. It honestly would have been well hidden, considering that Ryoma could see the charts and everything from where he was._

"_Saa, I can only hope to be this organised when I take over," Syuusuke muttered, still shifting through labelled cans, "every document relevant to the world's history is in this room. There are even copies of Elizabeth Wilkinson's journals from over twelve thousand years ago. The early ones are translated from Greek to Chinese though, so it's hard to read. She's one of the vampires who will live forever unless deliberately killed with the gun that my dad keeps in his drawer: the immortals. Otousan has everything. His books write themselves, this very moment probably being written into one right now."_

_Ryoma looked up in mild interest, but the vast majority of that speech just fell on deaf ears. "When you take over?" he asked._

_Syuusuke smiled. "Of course," Syuusuke said as if it was plainly obvious, "Confinement is considered a family business, almost. Before my father was the warden, his father was and so on and so forth. This house is actually quite old. We just renovate a lot since we have a lot of spare time."_

Ryoma skipped through a few paragraphs, each of his movements suddenly part of the script. He looked up in disbelief. Surely, this was impossible. It was all in handwriting too, old Japanese script.

Syuusuke smiled triumphantly. "Found it!" he said, "here, you should like this."

Ryoma looked at Syuusuke and took the can. "H-how...?"

Syuusuke smiled evilly. "Magic," he grinned. Syuusuke turned around, returning to the shelves. "If vampires are real, you can only imagine what other fantasy creatures are. Dragons, goblins, fairies, leprechauns. Not many know the truth. I don't even know if they are real."

Ryoma unconsciously opened the aluminium can and took a sip. The taste was wonderful. It was sweet with the tiniest hint of sour. But it was also metallic. He didn't notice the can was empty quite quickly. His eyes flashed red, finally recognising the taste. "Blood? How does blood taste sweet?"

"Different people, different blood," Syuusuke said in-matter-of-factly, "you should know that. Even humans know that."

Syuusuke opened up a canister for himself as he threw Ryoma another. Ryoma drank this one a little slower, but not too much. He really was quite impatient when it came to the thirst he had. It was a wonder he had lasted this long. Most newborns would have been on a killing spree by now.

Syuusuke wasn't far behind. He finished it and smiled. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah," Ryoma muttered. He was still wondering about the magic book. How could it be writing as he read it. At the speed it was too. It was barely a second behind.

Syuusuke smiled. "You know, I've heard that vampires' and animals' blood tastes the same. Just pure metallic. I wouldn't know about the animals, but vampires' is very plain," Syuusuke said, "you can tell why it takes more plain blood to fill you up, right? Human blood, even from the cans, is much more satisfying."

Ryoma nodded just a little. He was still learning about vampires, as odd as it sounded. He thought vampires drank blood, no matter whose it was, and killed people when he was human. But it turned out to be so much more than that. Vampires were almost human beings themselves now, but he couldn't look away from the fact vampires still did just that: drink blood and kill.

Syuusuke took advantage of Ryoma's deep thought, his lips gently pressing against Ryoma's, a little blood left on his lips. There was still some of the sweet tasting blood there, something Syuusuke hadn't tasted in years.

"W-what are you doing, Fuji-senpai?" Ryoma almost exclaimed, pulling back with a blush on his face. He looked away, trying to hide the blush as much as he could.

Syuusuke chuckled a little. "What? You don't like me kissing you?" he asked, pretending to be hurt.

Ryoma went silent again, trying to hide his face even further. "I didn't say that," Ryoma murmured so quietly he thought that just maybe Syuusuke didn't hear it. But Syuusuke had other things in mind.

Syuusuke gently grabbed under Ryoma's chin, placing a light kiss on his lips. Ryoma relaxed a little, his lips only needing to open a little and Syuusuke took it as an invitation to deepen the kiss.

Ryoma certainly disliked the spicy flavour of Syuusuke's mouth – the blood – but it was bearable. He actually didn't mind it after a few seconds; It was much better than wasabi.

Syuusuke smiled as he pulled back. He gently ran a hand down Ryoma's cheek. "I should tell you something," Syuusuke said, a smile on his face, "the book isn't magic. You've been thinking about it half the night. It's scries with pens that send the words electronically to the book. Like those fancy drawing tablets to computers."

Ryoma let it click. He felt stupid for even thinking it could have been magic. Sure, vampires were one thing but fairies? That was ridiculous!

Syuusuke smiled as he looked at Ryoma. The quiet freshman looked a little tired, Ryoma honestly the sleepiest vampire Syuusuke had ever met. But he had to admit, the national finals were tomorrow and he himself was a bit tired from his match with Shiraishi.

The thought of his match suddenly made him feel quite disappointed in himself, his smile fading away. He had lost a singles match, the first ever. He got up and smiled once again.

"We should rest for the finals tomorrow. Yukimura will be playing tomorrow. He's a tough opponent, from what I hear," Syuusuke said, "I'll walk you home."

Ryoma sighed, the whole night kind of mixing together. Blood, kisses, magic... that doesn't exist, the National Tournament. Ryoma would have shot himself then. He forgot about the Nationals! Tennis! He lived and breathed tennis and yet he had forgotten the finals were tomorrow.

Syuusuke smiled. "You didn't forget, did you?" he teased.

Ryoma shot a dark glare at Syuusuke. Syuusuke definitely wouldn't live that comment down. Ryoma wasn't going to let Syuusuke get away with it. "No," he lied, "but I can walk home by myself, _Fuji-senpai."_

Syuusuke's smile faded. "_Syu-u-suke, _Ryoma."

--

**(A.N: I cut that short, because it worked better if I did. Otherwise we'd be going on for another ten pages and you wouldn't be getting this today. **

**Please review**

**Asami-chan.)**


	11. The Despair

**Chapter Eleven – The Despair**

Ryoma was never the type to admit defeat. But what made Ryoma distinctively himself was simple. He'd come back and won, nullifying his weakness. He'd been itching to play Tezuka again but to no avail. The result was almost definite now; Ryoma would win, wouldn't he? He'd defeated Sanada and Yukimura, the two best players from Rikkai Dai, twice national champions – not to mention that Yukimura was the prince of vampires. He'd also defeated Atobe, the same person who destroyed Tezuka's shoulder.

Nationals were over. Seishun Gakuen were the victors thanks to Ryoma's six-four win. Ryoma still wasn't in the best condition, his eyes didn't always give him clear vision and on occasion he'd loose feeling. The match was to blame of course. He could remember his body shutting down as he tried to play. He desired to win. But of course, he'd heard that sometimes the effects stuck. Tennis practice was calmer due to the end of season. But he still found that picking up his racket reminded him of the fateful match that was only a few days ago.

Ryoma cradled his head, putting down the tennis racket as he waited for the temporary blindness faded and he could see again. He wondered if Syuusuke ever had moments of blindness since his match against Kirihara Akaya way back in the Kantou Regional Finals. Blindness surely didn't disappear.

"Ready to come out with me?" Momo asked, leaning on the windowsill from outside, his body held up by his arms. Momo still had that goofy grin on his face from the victory at the Nationals. Ryoma knew that Momo had probably been smiling since then non-stop.

Ryoma nodded, grabbing a jacket. Autumn was setting in early this year so nights were colder. His senses didn't always realise he was cold because he had spent too many nights in the open air now. He grabbed a jacket to at least throw over his shoulders, but stayed in his shorts and a t-shirt.

Momo smiled. "I only have an hour. Hurry up!"

–

"Ah, Syuusuke. How are you?" Seiichi asked curiously. It had been a while since the boys had seen each other, other than the finals of course. But they chose not to speak there because it was more likely to turn out to be a verbal war.

Syuusuke folded his arms. "Fine," he said, uninterested in small talk, "Seiichi, did you know that you can cover up blood lust?"

Seiichi smiled in amusement. "So I've heard," he said, looking at Syuusuke, "Is there a reason for this Syuusuke? It's delightful that you've decided to visit me, but if there is no purpose then please leave."

The Yukimura house looked fairly ordinary for a Japanese house, at least from the outside. Rice paper walls held together with bamboo frames, sliding doors and tatami mats on the floor. Inside the main room there was a small shrine to their ancestors at the end of the room.

Syuusuke sighed. "I _need _to find mine," Syuusuke said, "I can't rely on my father's storage and An-chan until I die."

Seiichi chuckled. He rested his head on his chin in slight interest."You're right, Syuusuke," he said with an obscure smile. Syuusuke couldn't tell if Syuusuke was smiling because he felt sincere or because he was liking the fact Syuusuke had turned to him. "They say that you know since birth; it's whether you fall for the temptation when you notice."

Syuusuke frowned after a few moments of silence. Obviously Seiichi didn't understand what he was getting at. "Well?"

Seiichi blinked. "Well, what?" he asked, "you don't honestly expect that I'll help you. I'm having too much fun watching you suffer."

The room dropped silent for a few moments, an odd smell filling the air. "Sweet," Syuusuke muttered, the smell of blood caught on the wind.

Seiichi was intrigued. "That's something you don't smell often. Not many vampires like sweet blood."

Syuusuke's heart beat faster, anxiousness slowly taking over, instincts shouting at him to check out the source.

"Saa," Seiichi said, "In a week or so, Keigo and I are going to the annual, if you can call it annual, hunting trip. The stocks are getting low... If you could be kind enough to join us, it would be greatly appreciated. You can bring your _pet _if you wish."

Syuusuke hissed. "He's not a pet," he spat, "Don't _ever _call him that."

Seiichi burst into cackling laughter. "I never thought I'd see Fuji Syuusuke, cold-hearted sadist, in love. It still sounds ridiculous," he said between laughter.

Syuusuke slammed a hand on the low table. "Forget it. I'm leaving," he said, grabbing his coat.

"See you when we leave!" Seiichi shouted, a small chuckle escaping his lips, "Say hello to Echizen for me. I hope he's okay. He played a brilliant game."

–

Ryoma staggered back, his hands and lips coated in blood. He heard the body hitting the floor before he noticed the figure with his eyes. He lost his footing, falling flat on his back. His breath was badly caught so he was wheezing quietly, gasping for air.

Blood poured from it's neck and splattered across it's body. It's eyes were rolled back to white, what looked like bloody tears streaming down it's face. It's neck was broken and out of line, opposite shoulder slashed at to keep them still, blood pouring from their wounds.

"Excuse me," a voice asked with a horrible accent, obviously uncaring about the dead body a few metres away thanks to Ryoma's instinct to run back. "Are you alright?"

Ryoma's mind was a mess, all of his knowledge of Japanese disappearing. He was panicking. His mind could only make sense of one action.

Run.

"I'm sorry, I have to go," he spoke in pure English, leaving the figure terribly confused. He turned to his feet in a smooth, jumping movement, darting in the other direction. He didn't care what reasoning he was given; he was a murderer. He tried to wipe his mouth, only spreading the blood further.

_'"One of 'those', huh?"'_

Ryoma held his head, pain filling it with images of his victim. He choked back tears, his sight almost nothing. He slowly stopped, coughing and spluttering the blood he had consumed. His whole body fell forward onto his hands and knees, blood surrounding him. His throat throbbed, coughs continuing to force blood out of his body.

He rested his head on the floor, bloody tears dripping onto the ground. It was a pitiable sight,his fists white and surrounded by blood.

–

Momo sighed. "Echizen, hurry up!" He shouted as he opened the front gate of the Echizen residence.

The front door opened. "Momoshiro-kun, Ryoma-kun won't be going to school today," Nanako apologised.

Momo was surprised. "What happened?" he asked.

"He's just really, really unwell," Nanako said, "We hope he's going to get better soon. It's not like him to be sick like this. Even Nanjirou-ji is worried."

Momo knew she was serious. "Uh, I hope he gets better soon as well," he said, "Oishi's family are all doctors so maybe one of them could check up on Echizen."

Nanako brightened up a little. "Oh really? Thank you."

Momo smiled though worry etched its way into his face. "I'll get Oishi-senpai to call one as soon as we get to school," Momo said, "which means I should go. I hope he gets better!"

Momo took off, alarm bells ringing in his head. Ryoma didn't get sick as a human and with the absolute minuscule chance you could catch something as a vampire, his previous good health should defend him. In any rational situation, Ryoma must have been really sick to even be sick.

–

"Ah, Ryoma-kun," a gentle voice said, examining Ryoma's 'as-good-as-blind' eyes, "Where does it hurt?"

Oishi Kenji was worried, his old age not even affecting his vision, but Ryoma; Ryoma could have been as blind as a bat at this point. Obviously deaf too since Ryoma remained still without even noticing Kenji was there. Even his breaths were too tiresome by the look of it.

"Ryoma-kun-" Kenji said, though Ryoma still made no signs that he knew Kenji was there. Kenji could make an observation or two. Ryoma was as pale as a ghost, which meant he probably had very little blood left in his systems. The blood smell that came from the bathroom wasn't only his and he couldn't tell if it was anyone else's from the house. Ryoma looked to be in shock and Kenji had an idea of why.

"Do you know how to help him?" Rinko asked, surprisingly still in the country. Ryoga had moved to Japan but Rinko still worked in America.

Kenji thought for a moment. "To me, it looks a bit like trauma or shock. Maybe something happened and he really didn't like it or maybe something has come up from his matches; Yukimura Seiichi has a habit of giving people 'the yips' which can progress to something like this. Rarely though."

"Shock?" Nanjirou asked, "This is because of shock? Seriously..."

Rinko whacked him on the arm. "It's serious, dear. People die from shock."

"Well, it ain't from that tennis match. He defeated that Yukimura kid hands down," Nanjirou said, crossing his arms, "But I can't think of anything that could make our troublesome kid like this."

"Well," Kenji started, "I think giving him anything wouldn't be wise at this point. He doesn't seem to be in any pain physically and I can't do much about mental stress. It would probably be best if you keep giving him water or tea because anything else will probably not stay down at this rate. If he starts responding to you all the time without going into spells like this, then call me and I'll check to see if he's all right again."

Rinko smiled just a little. "Thank you."

Kenji nodded. "You're more than welcome. One last thing: if he is talking again, don't pressure him into telling you what happened, if something did happen. That's what will force him into this again if it's shock. Let him tell you when he's ready."

Rinko nudged Nanjirou, knowing that that was something her husband would do. "We won't," she replied.

–

Oishi frowned. "Thank you, Ojiisan," he said as he held his phone to his ear, "I'll see if anyone knows anything." Oishi closed his phone, a grim look on his face.

Eiji wrapped his arms around Oishi's shoulders. "Nya, what's wrong, Oishi?"

"Echizen is sick," Oishi replied.

Eiji smiled. "A cold?" he chuckled, "O'chibi isn't eating enough. I told you, nya~!"

Oishi frowned. "No, he's really sick, Eiji. You shouldn't laugh," Oishi said, "Ojiisan refuses to tell me what's wrong. He just says it's bad."

Eiji's smile faded. "Really?" he almost whispered, "nya, O'chibi..."

Oishi put his phone in his pocket and took out his tennis racket from his bag. "If we're late, Tezuka will assign us to laps."

Practice was quiet since the Ryoma fan club had no Ryoma to fan over. There were the occasional whispers of curious people. Ryoma had not missed a single day of practice by choice. The only days they remember him missing was when he had library or clean-up duty. Not to mention the day he became a vampire, not that the human members of the team knew that.

Syuusuke looked at Eiji and Oishi and saw the worry in their eyes. He knew instantly that something was wrong. Very wrong. Fuji Syuusuke wasn't stupid either. He could tell that it ninety-one percent chance that it was about Ryoma. Syuusuke suddenly felt like Inui.

"Something happened to Ryoma, didn't it?" Syuusuke asked. Oishi looked at Syuusuke.

Eiji 'glomped' Syuusuke. "It's bad, Fujiko! He's really sick!"

"Eiji!"

"I'm sorry, Oishi! But, Fujiko should know," Eiji apologised.

"Do you know what's wrong?" Syuusuke asked. Somehow, he had an idea.

Oishi looked down. "My grandfather won't tell me," Oishi said, "but he says it's really bad."

--

Syuusuke sighed, pulling his coat over his shoulders. Why was he doing this again? Oh, that's right. He cared for Ryoma and wanted to make sure he was okay.

_I never thought I'd see Fuji Syuusuke, cold-hearted sadist, in love._

Syuusuke rolled his eyes at the thought. Love? Never. Sure, he felt the nagging that he should be with Ryoma all the time, he found it easier to smile, he felt 'warm and fuzzy' when he was near Ryoma, his eyes couldn't focus anywhere else while Ryoma was around and every time Ryoma spoke Syuusuke got the urge to kiss those sweet, sweet...

Okay, he'd admit it. He was in love.

Syuusuke pulled on his shoes and walked out of the door, the quiet calls of cicadas from the garden echoing in his ears. The night was particularly quiet for some reason. Usually there was some group of people walking around. Vampires were usually around at night and there were plenty of them in Tokyo.

Syuusuke jumped the gate of the Echizen household. It would make less noise that way. He couldn't hear anything from those in the house. All the lights were off too. Syuusuke quietly stepped through the grass which had begun to grow long. Everything was silent, like a ghost town, even the cicadas just a faded noise in the distance.

Syuusuke put one hand on the wall, gently lifting himself up. It was one of the times he wished Japanese houses weren't on such small blocks. The land was so small almost every house was a double story just to make some sort of room. The Echizen house was no exception.

He reached the window which was thankfully open. The room was almost black, the feint lights of shelves, posters and tennis gear gleaming in the moonlight. Ryoma's bed was tucked away into the corner, the light just reaching the corner.

"Ryoma?" Syuusuke whispered as quietly as he could, "are you awake?"

There was no response.

"Ryoma? I'm coming in," Syuusuke repeated, just a tiny bit louder. He tried to make his footsteps silent. As he peered over at the bed more carefully this time, he saw a tiny, curled up figure in the far corner. He stepped forward, the gleam of open eyes staring straight at him. As Syuusuke's eyes adjusted, he could see the gleaming eyes clearly; they were eyes dry from tears and tired but held open just incase.

Syuusuke stepped forward. "Ryoma?"

There was still silence. Syuusuke wondered if Ryoma had mastered the art of sleeping with his eyes open. He put one hand on the bed and Ryoma's whole body flinched, pulling back into the corner almost in fear.

"Ryoma," Syuusuke sighed, "I'm not going to hurt you."

There was a long pause. Syuusuke heard Ryoma's mouth open to say words, but nothing came out. Finally, in a raspy breath, Ryoma spoke. "I killed someone, Syuusuke."

Syuusuke couldn't say he was surprised. He knew that it was beyond normal to eventually kill someone as a vampire. Momo had managed under extreme discipline. But every other regular had killed someone at one stage or another – willing or not.

Ryoma relaxed a little, but still remained curled up as silence continued. He seemed to have beaten himself up about it a lot. More than necessary. Sure, now he would be considered a murder by humans, but by vampires, normal. Atobe or someone usually threw in a snide comment to Momo about never getting blood on his own. Being purely useless if he had to fend for himself. The regulars all looked in disgust at whoever said it. Momo was born a human: it was normal not wanting to kill the people you used to be like.

"We all have, Ryoma. That's normal," Syuusuke tried to say. He knew he was half lying, Momo again, but to a general term, it was right. Killing was half of what made vampires vampires. If a vampire never consumed blood, they would be a menace to every being or human. That was that.

Ryoma shivered. "Blood was everywhere," he whispered so quietly Syuusuke almost didn't hear it. "I killed them. I couldn't tell who they were anymore."

Syuusuke sighed. He could expect something similar from Momo if Momo ever killed anyone. Eiji was generally was sad when he killed someone, but he didn't lock himself away from the world. No regular killed for the sake of it. They killed to survive.

Syuusuke sat on the bed, looking straight at Ryoma. "Did you want to know the name of who you killed?"

Ryoma gave it thought. If he knew who it was, he would have been more upset. He wanted to know so he knew who would not be around tomorrow, but he didn't want to know to save himself from seeing the grief of the family and knowing that it was his fault.

"Well, do you?" Syuusuke asked.

"No," Ryoma whispered under his breath. Syuusuke smiled as he sat back next to Ryoma.

"Saa, practice was so quiet today without anyone for your fan girls to 'fan girl' over," Syuusuke said, changing the subject. "Everybody missed you. We were all worried about you." Syuusuke put a little kiss on the top of Ryoma's head. "Even Tezuka."

Ryoma hesitantly put his head on Syuusuke's shoulder. Syuusuke lifted his arm to pull Ryoma in, one arm over Ryoma's shoulders. "I was lonely."

Ryoma looked up, his eyes seeming so innocent. No one would believe Syuusuke if he said that Ryoma was an emotional wreck. Ryoma was a very simple person. Not the death of a family member could make Ryoma cry. Ryoma didn't cry or whine when he got all of his tennis injuries. They seemed like nothing. But murder proved to be on another scale entirely.

Syuusuke smiled. "I can imagine a party at Taka-san's when you get back to school. Everyone will be so happy you're alright," he said, trying to cheer Ryoma up. "Maybe Tezuka will smile. He was in a bad mood today. You were so lucky to miss out on it. I think he made me run fifty laps. Momo and Kaidoh got two hundred or something. Oishi ended up pulling Tezuka inside to calm him down."

Ryoma's mouth twitched just a little with hope of a smirk. That was exaggerated, yes, but close enough to the real story.

Syuusuke looked up at the ceiling. "You're going to have to work extra hard when you get back to make up for all the training you're missing," Syuusuke said, "you might set the lap record. But, you get better first, okay. We don't need a sick Echizen Ryoma on our courts. That will cause chaos. Not the good kind either."

Ryoma's mouth twitched again. "What chaos is good chaos, Syuusuke?" he whispered.

"Saa, dying someone's hair pink is good chaos. Making people drink Inui Juice is good chaos. Setting up holes in the ground covered with leaves and such is good chaos. Especially when you fill it with water underneath," Syuusuke said, "sneaking into people's houses is good chaos too. A lot of fun. Unless they're being zombies and staring at you like they're monsters."

Ryoma flinched. "Sorry," he apologised very quietly and quickly, like he didn't want to. To Ryoma, it actually wasn't his fault. If he hadn't of killed that person, he wouldn't have been staring at Syuusuke. He wouldn't have killed that person if he wasn't a vampire in the first place. Syuusuke, noticing the thought hidden behind Ryoma's words – Ryoma was pretty obvious when he was avoiding the blame for something, chuckled. Some things would never change.

Syuusuke smiled. "It's okay. At least this zombie speaks Japanese. Most zombies speak like babies," Syuusuke teased. He sat forward a little. "Come on. Let's go."

Ryoma curled up again instinctively. "I'm not going outside," he muttered.

Syuusuke sighed, grabbing Ryoma's hand. "I'm not going to take you near any people. Come on. You need to get outside some time today," Syuusuke insisted.

Ryoma slowly uncurled, but stayed very tense. Syuusuke lead Ryoma the whole way, ending up in a park surrounded by trees. The moonlight peaked through the tree tops, leaves beginning to fall. Autumn was on its way.

"If it's not tomorrow, or even the next day, come back to school soon. I have to go away in a week for a little while and I don't think I'll be able to control myself, not randomly appearing in your window almost every night," Syuusuke smiled. "Saa, it'll be interesting, I guess."

Ryoma nodded, curling up again, but leaning on Syuusuke. Ryoma's tired eyes closed, his breathing slowed and soon, Ryoma was asleep. Syuusuke smiled at Ryoma's peaceful looking face. Syuusuke gently lifted Ryoma, carrying him in his arms.

Unconsciously, Ryoma tried to get as close to the warmth as he could. If Ryoma was aware of what he was doing, he wouldn't live it down. If Ryoma wasn't as sick as he wasn't, Syuusuke wouldn't let him live it down.

But, maybe just once, Syuusuke could let Ryoma get away with it without being blackmailed.

**(Okay, this is only late because I was lazy. That's my only valid excuse. Anywho, please review. I hope you liked it. The next one will be out sooner. I promise.**

**Please review, thanks for reading!)**


	12. The Last

**(A.N: As always, Read, review and enjoy. This is the last chapter before the epilogue.)**

**Chapter Eleven – The Last**

Ryoma groaned as he leaned on the fence, watching rallies go back and forth, back and forth. Tezuka stood beside him like a king observing his men. With a defeated sigh, Ryoma slid down the fence and sat down, well aware he wasn't going to be allowed to train. Running laps was pushing it. Tezuka, Ryuuzaki-sensei and Oishi had all made him sit out of practice when he was overexerting himself then.

"Buchou-"

"Echizen, you're still getting better from being sick. Don't push yourself too much," Tezuka repeated for the umpteenth time. Ryoma frowned, bring his knees into his chest as he mumbled. He was beginning to dislike his team even more. Everybody knew tennis was Ryoma's life, but no one would let him play.

Tezuka walked over to some of the other courts, instructing the non-regulars on their next movements. Ryoma closed his eyes and tilted his head back in frustration. He could feel the energy flowing through his veins and he was being held down, like a caged animal.

"E-excuse me, Ryoma-kun," Kachirou's nervous voice asked, "Are you alright?"

Ryoma opened his eyes and slowly looked at Kachirou. "I'm fine," he growled. The sudden closeness of a human took him off guard. Ryoma took a deep breath, only inhaling more of the scent he was avoiding.

Ryoma closed his eyes, hiding what he knew would soon turn a cold red. His breath hitched, his entire body beginning to respond to the scent. Ryoma tried to make it look like he was watching the regulars play, but he wasn't at all. He felt his stomach churn again, just like it had before, and the lack of blood in his systems catch up to him.

"Oh, okay," Kachirou said quietly before he walked off to join the other first years for drills.

Ryoma brought his knees in closer, his hands gripping them as if they would betray him if he didn't. He rested his head on his knees, choking back the disgruntled sob that begged to come out of his throat. The energy he wanted to use for tennis became his enemy, it begging to be let free. He was beginning to dislike the fact he had disagreed to intake any more blood, at least not until he knew he couldn't stand the need anymore. Ryoma hissed in pain as he held his head.

"Ryoma," a gentle voice said. A gentle hand brushed through Ryoma's hair comfortingly. "Are you alright?"

Ryoma was getting very sick of people asking if he was alright. Did he look alright? Well, he was hoping he looked alright, but he knew otherwise.

He clenched his jaw. "I'm fine," he said.

Syuusuke pulled up Ryoma's chin, inspecting his face like a doctor. "You look sick still," Syuusuke commented. Ryoma opened his eyes to look into Syuusuke's. They were gentle and filled with concern for once. Ryoma hissed in pain and closed his eyes again at the sounds of screaming.

Syuusuke laughed. "It's only fangirls," he chuckled. "Come on. Let's get you somewhere to cool off a bit."

Syuusuke held one of Ryoma's hands and supported him with the other. Ryoma got up slowly, refusing to look in the direction of the others. He knew they were staring. It didn't take a genius to figure that out. Ryoma shivered as a cool breeze swept through the courts. There was more screams, this time girls loosing papers and holding their skirts in the wind.

Syuusuke gave a small smile to Ryoma, hoping Ryoma would cheer up. Ryoma opened his eyes to look at Syuusuke. "I'm going away after school today," Syuusuke said, finally.

"With... Yukimura and Monkey King, right?" Ryoma responded.

Syuusuke smirked at Atobe's nickname. "Yeah. I don't really have a choice."

Ryoma sat down, the secluded place away from any humans. It was easier to concentrate without focusing on staying in control. He tugged on his hat a little too hard, the hat falling onto his face. Syuusuke chuckled. "You better not do that during a match while I'm gone," Syuusuke chuckled, half-heartedly. He really didn't want to leave. "You'll give the other player an advantage."

"Che," Ryoma grunted, rather nonchalant as usual. "They'd need one."

Syuusuke chuckled again. Ryoma would be the only person to insist the other player would need a handicap. No wonder people called him an arrogant, cocky brat.

"Saa, we'll have to see. When I get back, we'll try that, shall we?" Syuusuke teased. Ryoma frowned. Syuusuke knew that Ryoma did not mean the regulars. Ryoma grunted again, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"We still have to finish our match, remember?" Ryoma said. There was a certain glimmer in Ryoma's eyes that Syuusuke only saw when Ryoma was talking about tennis.

"Yes," Syuusuke said. "But you have to get better first. Maybe when I get back."

Ryoma sighed. "When you get back then."

Syuusuke sat down next to Ryoma. "You know, there is only a few weeks left of this year," Syuusuke pointed out, "then it's your birthday, then Christmas, and before you know it, I'll be in High School and you'll be a second year."

Ryoma looked at Syuusuke. "Ah, that's right." Ryoma didn't realise how fast the year had passed. To think that a bit under a year ago, Ryoma came to Japan where he met all of his friends and realised just what tennis meant to him. He had become a vampire, been bitten, attacked someone and learned so much from and about his friends. He called Japan home, even if he had lived in America for much longer.

Because Japan was where he belonged.

--

Syuusuke stood outside the Yukimura gates, the house even more traditional than his own. A canopy of Japanese flowers and vines went over the pathway, some small Japanese lanterns lighting the way. A lot of people thought the Fuji house was extravagant, but the Yukimura house was even more.

Seiichi sat out in the courtyard, reading a book. He was wrapped up in a black coat, a serene smile on his face. He looked rather relaxed and comfortable. His eyes didn't dart from his book even as Syuusuke came closer. Syuusuke stood with his bag slung over his shoulder; he had brought a few changes of clothes, a book or two, a new game Eiji had assured him was entertaining and a camera in case there was something interesting.

Seiichi turned the page with his delicate fingers. He didn't even look up at Syuusuke. "So you actually came," Syuusuke said. He sounded amused. "Keigo should be here in a minute or two. Make yourself comfortable, if you can."

Syuusuke sat in a chair across from Seiichi, pulling out his camera and going through his old photos. Seiichi chuckled. "You're more sick and sadistic than I thought," Seiichi said, "taking photos of the murdered, are we?"

Syuusuke growled silently. "No," he hissed. "I brought my camera because there may be something interesting."

Seiichi went back to his book, a smile on his face. Syuusuke sighed, no longer feeling up to checking through his camera. He took out the small game device and tried to turn it on. As much of a genius he was, he never really played video games. He had no idea how to even turn the small, silver thing on.

"Ore-sama has arrived," Keigo felt the need to announce. He stood in between Seiichi and Syuusuke, a chuckle arriving at his lips as he watched Syuusuke struggle with something just bigger than his hands. "Having trouble, are we?"

Seiichi smiled sincerely. "Ah, Keigo. You've arrived. Great! Now, as soon as my father is done with his meeting, we can get going," Seiichi said. His voice sounded abnormally bright.

"A meeting? With whom?" Atobe asked curiously. "My father was mentioning that there was a meeting on today with one or two of the Elders."

Seiichi nodded. "Yes, so it would seem. The Russian Valentin Andreev and his daughter Anna are here and a few of the immortals, Elizabeth Wilkinson and her family are as well. To be honest, Anna and Elizabeth's granddaughter do nothing but argue. They aren't on good terms at all."

"They have different values, maybe?" Atobe suggested.

Seiichi chuckled. "No, they just don't like each other. They insult each other more than pay attention to their parents/grandparents."

"Ah, you're all here. Are we ready to go?" Yasaharu asked as he walked outside. "I was just saying good bye to our guests.

The small group walked outside, two in a heated discussion about something important. A man held the woman's hand, looking rather uncomfortable in the situation. Another woman stood with a concerned smile as she tried to calm what they could only guess was her daughter, or sister more likely, down. The one being calmed down and another girl about here age continued throwing insults at each other.

Yasaharu sighed. "It was nice meeting up with you all. Until next time," he said, trying to bid them farewell.

The woman up front turned. She was a fair-skinned woman, like her entire family. "Oh, it was a pleasure. It was a shame we couldn't stay any longer. We'll see you again soon," she said, a smile plastered on her face. It looked more fake and creepy than the one Syuusuke usually wore.

"That's right," the man she was talking to, Valentin, said, "We must get going. Anna."

Anna, his daughter who was arguing with the other girl, didn't seem to notice. "Filthy whore."

"Daddy's little fucking princess," the other insulted. She seemed to sport a real potty mouth.

"Well, at least I have a father, Elaine!" Anna insulted back.

Elaine looked very hurt by that remark. The whole family looked like they had been stabbed. Elaine was now choking back tears. "That's not fucking fair! You're a sleazy little gold-digger who just uses her dad like he's some piece of shit."

"I'm going to kill you!"

"Hey, hey, hey! Calm down now, girls," the quiet woman tried but she was still upset from the father remark.

The man holding what the boys gathered was Elizabeth's hand shot the darkest glare they had ever seen. "Will you two shut the fucking hell up or I'll kill both of you myself," he spat viciously. From what they could tell, he was dead serious. He looked very ready to attack.

"Bartholomew, dear, that's not necessary," Elizabeth said.

Yasaharu turned to the boys, officially ignoring his visitors. They had obviously outstayed their welcome. "Shall we go?"

Seiichi looked at the girls then back at his father. "That would be a good idea."

"I'm really sorry about this," Elizabeth apologised. "You see, my son, Elaine's father, disappeared a while ago and she gets very over emotional about it."

Yasaharu looked at Elizabeth. "It's fine. Just get the two of them to control their mouths and I'll have no problem," Yasaharu finished off as he lead the boys away. "Until next time, good bye."

Syuusuke looked out at the town as the car roared to life. He was going to miss Tokyo in the week or so he'd be gone, but it had to be done. He'd back before he knew it and able to see Ryoma again.

–

Ryoma opened his door, the sound of cluttering catching him by surprise. His mother, who had come back to Japan for a few days for unknown reasons, was on the phone to what sounded like the principal of Seishun Gakuen. Ryoma stepped down the stairs quietly to see some boxes beginning to be stacked, notably full of old tennis magazines and videos.

"What's going on?" Ryoma asked and Nanjirou looked up at him. Nanjirou grabbed some empty boxes and threw them in Ryoma's direction.

"Change of plans, kid. The monk is coming back early, so we've gotta leave to go back to America tomorrow," Nanjirou explained. "Go pack you're things. We're leaving early in the morning."

"T-tomorrow?" Ryoma stuttered. He knew in the back of his mind he would be leaving in late March after school had finished for the year, not early December.

"Yeah," Nanjirou said. "You got a problem with that? Your mother is sorting out that your exams and homework be sent to America and you'll be home schooled until school starts up again."

Ryoma ran up to his room with the boxes in hand, unsure of what to do. He mindlessly put some of his stuff in the boxes, mainly his magazines and spare clothing. He looked at his desk and got up, the feeling of uncertainty filling his head.

The least he could do was write something to Syuusuke. Something to explain what happened. Ryoma sighed. He wished that he could have stayed. At least until Syuusuke came back. Just to see him one last time.

Well, hopefully not the last.

Ryoma began writing down his details for his things in America. His address, his home phone number, his e-mail he rarely checked, his mobile he conveniently left at home and never used. At the bottom, he explained why he was leaving, the realisation hitting even harder as he got to the bottom of the page and signed it off.

He was going to be alone. He knew no other vampires in America. He would have to fend for himself. Find a way to get blood by himself. Everything he hated. It was like moving out of home, but he still actually lived with his parents. Maybe his grandmother wouldn't think he was crazy, considering he thought she was crazy most of the time. Talking about spirit beings and blood thirsty creatures as if they existed. She was a herbalist, disliking most forms of medication for the side-effects they gave. She was the most pleasant woman he had ever met, but she was on the weird side. She gave him everything he wanted, spoiled him rotten.

Ryoma folded up the letter as he looked out the window his friends had climbed through so many times. He wrote a small message to Momo for when he came to get Ryoma in the morning. At least if Momo could explain that he was leaving for a reason and not by choice either.

He packed the rest of his things, trying to avoid the thought of living off of himself. The thought carried onto his dreams that night, tossing and turning restlessly. He woke several times, drenched in cold sweat.

When Ryoma finally got up in the morning, he showered and picked up the boxes. He felt the darkness of being alone gather up inside his head. Everything he had begun to avoid was going to chase him. Like a monster.

With a sigh, he got in the car and went to the airport. His flight was there before he even noticed. Everything was like a blur. His eyes were distant as he avoided everything. He hoped Nanako would remember to give the letters. She was good at remembering.

As the plane left, Ryoma felt his heart sink. His breathing hitched as he tried to relax. This was it. He was leaving Japan. Japan was his home. He belonged there. He wanted to jump out of his seat and shout at them to open the door, but he didn't. He just sat frozen still. He wanted to convince his parents to stay, but he didn't. He couldn't. His mouth refused to speak. Because Ryoma wasn't as strong as everyone pictured. He was a brilliant tennis player. He could show off and win easily against most opponents. A rather cocky person when it came to relationships with others. He'd say a completely polite sentence in an offensive manner and leave the other to wonder what he was on about.

But when faced with leaving everything and everyone he truly cared about behind, all he could do, and barely do at that, was breathe.

**(A.N: That's the end. I think it's a little rushed, but I tried to make it work with what I have planned. There's an epilogue and a sequel I've been dying to get out! Yay! **

**Thanks for staying with Search for Blood for this long. It's a short chapter, but it's really meant to help lead into the sequel, so, I'll see you soon for the epilogue and the sequel, _Full Moon_.**

**Please, please review. Thank you.**

**Asami-chan.)**


	13. Epilogue

**(A.N: This is the last chapter for Search for Blood. Full Moon will be out very soon. Full Moon's summary with be at the bottom. Please read, review and enjoy. **

**Btw: The song/poem used in this chapter is actually written by me **_**for**_** this fic so you can ignore it, but it just sort of sums up the story. It's called **_**Dear Darkness. **_**Thank you!)**

**Epilogue – The Message**

_**My eyes see clearly now  
what should have been.  
Through broken mirrors  
and faded dreams**_

Syuusuke looked at Ryoma's empty room. The bed was bare and everything was empty. The tennis posters had been taken from the walls and ponta cans had gone. Not a tiny thing of Ryoma's was left.

Syuusuke sat on the windowsill, his heart turned stone cold. Ryoma said that when Syuusuke got back, they would play again. Ryoma promised he would be waiting.

_**Every step I take  
Brings me closer to you  
But every glance I make  
Shows me all I can do.**_

The tiny footsteps and the voice of Nanako, who actually did live there, distracted left the empty room the way he came, through the window. His footsteps were small as he tried to convince himself Ryoma hadn't left. That Ryoma would come back to practice tomorrow and announce he now lived in a new house, still in Tokyo.

_**Like leaves in the wind  
Or birds in the sky  
Bring me in closer  
Teach me to fly**_

The cold night wasn't comforting at all. He wished that he could find Ryoma. Winter had begun so it was cold out. Syuusuke could see his breath.

He put his hands in his pockets and held his breath. Ryoma couldn't have left without saying anything.

Could he?

_**Dear darkness  
Hold me tight  
Won't you protect me  
From my life?**_

The truth hurt. Syuusuke couldn't keep on lying for too long. Of course, Ryoma had to be gone now. Syuusuke recalled that the house did actually once belong to a monk, seemingly an old friend of Ryoma's father.

Ryoma was gone. There was no message, nothing. All Ryoma had left Syuusuke was an empty heart.

_**Dear darkness  
This is all I can do  
Please make me  
Stronger**_

Syuusuke knew the feeling all too well. When Yuuta left, Syuusuke was left with a big, open wound. With Ryoma, over time, it had begun to heal. The pain he hid went away. When Syuusuke smiled, it was real. It didn't hurt to get through another day. Life was worth living.

But Ryoma had left and the hole was bigger than before. Like his heart was missing a large part that could only be filled by him.

_**Dear darkness  
Hold me close  
Help me when  
I lose control**_

Syuusuke had managed to get to St Rudolf rather quickly. He knew most of the campus off by heart anyway. He stepped quietly through the damp grass as he found the window he wanted to find. It was never locked.

The window slid open easily as Syuusuke climbed in. He was as silent as he could be.

"Hm? Is someone there?" a voice asked, rather tired and slightly concerned.

Syuusuke stepped out of the shadows of the curtains. "Hey, Yuuta."

Yuuta sat up and turned on his lamp. "Aniki?" he asked. "Why are you here?" Yuuta had heard the sadness in his older brother's voice. "What's wrong?"

Syuusuke looked at Yuuta. Had he become that readable?

_**Be my patience  
Be my words  
Help me reach the top of my world  
Dear Darkness…**_

Yuuta slowly got up and went into his tiny kitchen area. "Aniki, what's wrong?" he asked as he poured himself a glass of water. He offered Syuusuke one but he declined.

Syuusuke sat next to Yuuta, the empty feeling still constricting him. He hoped Yuuta would help. "Ryoma left."

"Echizen?" Yuuta asked. "Back to America?"

Syuusuke knew that was most likely where the Echizen family would have gone. "Yeah."

"Now you're lonely," Yuuta said, making a fair assumption. "I can't bring him back, you know."

Syuusuke nodded. "Yeah, I know."

_**When you look at me  
Tell me baby, What do you see?  
Someone on top of the world  
Or a tiny dreaming child?**_

Yuuta went to get up, but he felt Syuusuke grab his hand. "Don't…" Syuusuke's tiny voice echoed.

Yuuta smiled gently. "Sure," he said. He could see the pain in Syuusuke's eyes, in his words. The light was dim, but not dark. Yuuta comforted his brother gently.

_**I've tried all my life  
To prove my worth  
Blood, sweat and tears stain my clothes  
But I still have a long way to go**_

Syuusuke listened to Yuuta speak about St. Rudolf. He nodded and answered where appropriate. The feeling was fading, but not gone. Definitely not gone, but better.

"Ne, Aniki," Yuuta said. "How is everyone?"

Syuusuke smiled. "Okaasan is her usual self, Yumiko is still with her boyfriend and Otousan promised me he was going to spend more time at home," he replied.

Yuuta smiled. "After I graduate from here at the end of next year, I decided I want to live at home again," Yuuta said, "What do you think?"

Syuusuke smiled. "We'd all love it."

_**Like leaves in the wind  
Or birds in the sky  
Bring me in closer  
Teach me to fly**_

The way home had been long and rather quiet. Syuusuke understood that Yuuta need sleep. The late train ride was comforting, though. The gentle rocking movement of the train made Syuusuke calm down and relax into his seat.

A gentle waft of smoke came in Syuusuke's direction. He wasn't stupid. Someone was smoking on the train. First one eye, then the other opened.

"Long day?" a voice asked.

Syuusuke nodded. "Yeah," he replied.

The middle-aged man came and sat closer, cigarette dangling from his lip. "I like trains. I sit on 'em all day long an' I never wanna get off 'em," he mused, "what year are you?"

Syuusuke sat up. He could know smell it even more. He e didn't know why, or how, but he felt drawn in to the careless act. "Junior high, Seishun Gakuen. Third year."

"You smoke?" the middle aged man asked, noticing Syuusuke's interest. He scratched his greying, messy beard.

_**Dear darkness  
Hold me tight  
Won't you protect me  
From my life?**_

It was in that moment, Syuusuke felt like he knew his addiction. Every time he was near smoke, like fire, he wanted to get closer, to taste it. He blamed his sense that blood would naturally be nearby something on fire, but he finally understood.

He gradually accepted the cigarette, despite his common sense shouting at him. Being calm and composed all the time was boring. Besides, it was only one. If it turned out that it wasn't his addiction, he'd stop. He'd put it out and never, _ever_ do it again.

_**Dear darkness  
This is all I can do  
Please make me  
Stronger**_

The next day continued like Ryoma never existed. No one asked why Ryoma was gone. Instead, the attention was on Syuusuke who had turned up to practice late.

Tezuka set Syuusuke with twenty laps and to assist the first years with drills again. Syuusuke just smiled his fake smile like he used to and agreed. Eiji watched with a dull smile on his face.

Syuusuke finished his laps and assisted the first years. A few struggled with form and Syuusuke corrected it like a good teacher. He moved the wrist and arm of one, showing him proper movement. As he let go, the first year swang back and hit him just beside his lip.

_**Dear darkness  
Hold me close  
Help me when  
I lose control**_

Syuusuke held his cheek just a little. The regulars had all stoped at the smell of blood, some naturally more than others. Kaidoh and Tezuka seemed the most composed, followed by Inui and Taka. Oishi naturally worried and Eiji's smile disappeared. Momo just turned away and held his lips, blocking his nose as well as he could without being noticed.

"Be careful," Syuusuke corrected. The blood didn't seem to bother him.

The others didn't know if they should have been relieved or worried. Surely, if not now, Syuusuke would lust for blood soon.

_**Be my patience  
Be my words  
Help me reach the top of my world  
Dear Darkness**_

The whole day continued like that until Syuusuke found him speaking to the man on the train again. Like before, the man was smoking.

"You're a vampire, right?" the man suddenly asked. "I won't be afraid if you say yes."

"I am," Syuusuke replied quietly. "How did you-?"

The man looked reminiscent. "There's a certain aura 'round you vampires most people don't notice. But I do," he said. "When I was young, I dated a beautiful vampire. I didn't know she was a vampire at the time. We were engaged after three years together and I had told her how I wanted two sons and a young, beautiful daughter, just like her. She smiled and wanted that too. She told me she would give up everything to live with me forever.

"The few weeks before our wedding, she told me she was a vampire. She wanted to be human more than anything in the world, she wanted a family but she was scared something would happen to our children.

"I left because she had lied to me and didn't speak to her for over ten years. When I called her to apologise, I was told that she had died when I left. That she had barely lasted a week until her mother's genetic disease had passed on to her and she had died."

_**Look at me now  
I'm so tired I can barely breathe  
You'd never guess that this was  
only part of my dreams**_

Syuusuke looked at his hands. "I'm sorry."

The man smiled. "I take this train every day because twenty two years ago, I saw her on this train. She was as beautiful as when I met her, hadn't aged a day. Her smile had gone but she was still beautiful."

Syuusuke smiled. "Oh," he said. "Did you speak to her?"

"What could I say? I left her and I thought she had died. My angel had returned to me, but she didn't deserve someone as bad as me," he finished, "it's better now she's free." He looked at Syuusuke. "What happened to you?"

Syuusuke sighed, but had a slight smile on his face at the thoughts. "The person I love left the country without saying goodbye."

_**I'm going now  
To chase down my world  
But I still need you, I still love you  
So wait for me, Baby.**_

The man smiled. "What luck, huh? You're still young. You'll find your true love one day," he insisted. "So, what happened?"

"They came from America for a year," Syuusuke began. "At first, they seemed like an arrogant, cocky brat, but somehow, I grew accustomed to being around them. I made them a vampire. There were struggles, but I still loved them.

"I had to go away for a week, last week. When I came back, they were already gone, not a single goodbye."

The man nodded. "Fate works in strange ways. But have hope. You may meet up again."

Syuusuke nodded. "Thank you."

_**Dear darkness  
Hold me tight  
Won't you protect me  
From my life?**_

Tiny footsteps echoed in the hall as Syuusuke walked into his own home. He could hear the laughter of his parents, Yumiko and Kiyoshi.

He went upstairs and unpacked his bag. He hid his tiny salvation and placed is picture of Ryoma on the wall. He stuck pictures around it of the old Seigaku team, his primary school team with Saeki, his family, including Yuuta on his own and his rival teams. The pictures covered the wall in the shape of the Japanese kanji, 'ki' meaning 'hope'._**  
Dear Darkness  
This is all I can do  
Please make me  
Stronger**_

With trembling fingers, he photographed his creation. The tiny screen only saw the character but once Syuusuke put it on his computer, it was as clear as glass. Syuusuke, not caring for his walls, took out a black marker and a Stanley knife. He fixed the edges and lined the outside with black marker._**  
Dear darkness  
Hold me close  
Help me when  
I lose control**_

Yumiko stepped in her brother's room and smiled. Syuusuke laid asleep on his bed, the large kanji artwork above him. Yumiko smiled. "'kaasan, 'tousan! Come quick," she whispered.

Yoshiko smiled as she looked at Syuusuke's wall. Tadashi wrapped his arms around his wife. "Hope, huh? That's quite appropriate," Tadashi smiled, "Setsuko will love it. I know it."

Yoshiko nodded. "Just like his father, don't you say? I remember you covering your walls at work with pictures."

Tadashi nodded. "But not like this. This is art. This is irreplaceable."

Yumiko smiled triumphantly. "I told you he's going to be an artist!"_**  
Be my patience  
Be my words  
Help me reach  
the top of my world**_

The night grew dim and soon it was twilight, between dawn and day. The birds sang quietly as Syuusuke got up. He looked at his bedside table to see one last picture. There was a not on his bedside table and a picture of three boys when they were little, Seiichi, Atobe and himself.

He read the note aloud. "Syuusuke, even if where you come from tells you otherwise, break the chain. Because they were once and still are your friends. 'tousan."

Syuusuke found the perfect place and stuck it on his wall. It only covered Mizuki. Syuusuke still held a grudge. Mizuki would have to live with it.

_**Dear darkness  
Hold me tight  
Won't you protect me  
From my life?**_

Ryoma sat in his grandmother's kitchen. She was cooking, as per usual, and making her latest herbal medication for some unknown reason. Probably because Ryoma was holding his head and looked half dead. She was humming a little tune that sounded older than her grandparents.

"Did you like it in Japan?" she asked. She continued to crush her herbs with her mortar and pestle.

"It was… fun," Ryoma said and his grandmother smiled._**  
Dear Darkness  
This is all I can do  
Please make me  
Stronger**_

"A lot changed over the year," his grandmother smiled. "You're taller, stronger and a vampire."

Ryoma was surprised to say the least. "You… can tell?"

"It's easy. I'm making this recipe in particular for a reason, Ryoma. It doesn't taste like blood, but it satisfies. I can already see it's helping you and you haven't even started."

Ryoma nodded. "Oh, okay then."

His grandmother placed the brown mixture in front of Ryoma. It looked a little like chocolate. "Eat up. It's good for you," she smiled, "you want to get big and strong, right?"_**  
Dear darkness  
Hold me close  
Help me when  
I lose control**_

His grandmother opened the door. "Oh, it's you. You're not getting my recipies. Forget it," she growled. "Go away."

"I'm sorry, we can't do that. We have orders," a male voice replied.

She sighed. "If you'd please excuse me, my grandson is here. If you would please leave."

A female voice replied, "well, your damn, fucking lucky. We really wish you'd just fucking hand us that shitty recipe Lachlan is raving about so we don't have to fucking kill you."

Ryoma's grandmother shook her head. "I can't do that. Sorry, good bye."_**  
Be my patience  
Be my words  
Help me reach  
the top of my world**_

Ryoma sat in his bedroom, curled up in the darkest corner. He secretly wanted Syuusuke to turn up at his window again. But he knew Syuusuke wouldn't. It was impossible.

He held the music to his ears, the words like his own life written on paper. The darkness comforted him and hand always helped him achieve his dreams. It showed him everything he had.

He gently hummed the final words, avoiding the lonely tears in his eyes.

_**Dear darkness**_

_**(Sequel – Full Moon.**_

_**Five years had been a long time. Can the regulars save Ryoma from darkness? Very Twisted. Lots of language.**_

_**Thank you so much for reading Search for blood. Please review and read Full Moon when it comes out in the next few days.**_

_**Asami-chan**_

_**Finished: 10:47pm, March 2**__**nd**__** 2009.**_


End file.
